From 1822 until 1909, Boston's legislative body was

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

, with a Board of Aldermen that was elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

and a much larger Common Council that was elected from multi-member electoral districts (

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

). This city legislature was replaced in 1909 with the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

body that is the modern Boston City Council.

Description

Prior to 1822,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

was governed by the

Boston Board of Selectmen The Boston Board of Selectmen was the governing board for the town of Boston from the 17th century until 1822. Selectmen were elected to six-month terms early in the history of the board, but later were elected to one-year terms. In colonial day ...

. Boston voted in 1822 to incorporate as a city and adopted the

Boston City Charter The Boston City Charter is a series of State statutes which codifies a system of rules for the government of the City of Boston, Massachusetts. The Charter is not a typical city constitution but rather a series of amendments, General Court ruling ...

. On May 1, 1822, the Boston Board of Selectmen ceremonially handed over the city to the new government consisting of the newly-established City Council and the newly-established

mayoralty In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. Under this original Boston City Charter, between 1822 and 1909, the city's legislative body was

. This legislature, known as the Boston City Council, consisted of a Board of Aldermen that was elected

and a much larger Common Council with members that was elected from multi-member

. This Boston City Council existed along with a mayoralty that was established by the charter. When the Boston City Charter was rewritten in 1909, the Boston City Council was recreated as a nine-member

body.O'Connor, T.H. (1997). ''Boston Irish: A Political History''. New York: Back Bay Books.

Common Council

Presidents of the Boston Common Council

The Common Council was led by a president. The following table chronologically lists the tenures of individuals in this position:

Board of Aldermen

Chairmen of the Boston Board of Aldermen

The Board of Aldermen was led by a chairman. The following table chronologically lists the tenures of individuals in this role:

References