Robert M. Riddle (August 17, 1812 – December 18, 1858) was a newspaperman, postmaster and politician who served as
Mayor of Pittsburgh from 1853 to 1854.
Robert M. Riddle was born in 1812, the son of Judge James Riddle. He entered the mercantile trade in
Pittsburgh in the firm of Riddle and Forsyth, and subsequently engaged in the banking business in
Philadelphia.
In 1837, he became editor of the
''Advocate'', a
Whig newspaper in Pittsburgh. He served as the city's
postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...
from 1841 to 1845. When his term of office expired, he took over the paper called the ''Spirit of the Age'', and renamed it the ''
Commercial Journal
__NOTOC__
The ''Commercial Journal'' was a mid-19th century newspaper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
Beginnings
The paper was founded as the ''Spirit of the Age'' by J. Heron Foster, J. McMillin and J. B. Kennedy on 19 April 1843, w ...
''. He was connected to the paper as editor and proprietor until failing health near the end of his life forced him to retire from it.
[
With the Whigs in steep decline, he moved to the American (]Know Nothing
The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...
) Party, and was active in pushing an anti-slavery agenda within that organization. He ended up a Republican.
Riddle died of inflammatory rheumatism
Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...
in 1858.[ He is buried in Allegheny Cemetery beneath a columned marker that may be the cemetery's only cast-iron monument.]
See also
* List of Mayors of Pittsburgh
References
External links
*
Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddle, Robert M.
1812 births
1858 deaths
Mayors of Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania postmasters
Journalists from Pennsylvania
Editors of Pennsylvania newspapers
19th-century American newspaper editors
19th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
American male journalists
Pennsylvania Whigs
19th-century American politicians
Pennsylvania Know Nothings
Pennsylvania Republicans
Burials at Allegheny Cemetery
19th-century American male writers