Douglas Gunn (August 31, 1841 – November 26, 1891) was an American scholar, publisher, pioneer and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Born Lewis Douglas Gunn on August 31, 1841, in

Wheelersburg, Ohio Wheelersburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in Scioto County, Ohio, United States. It lies along the northern banks of the Ohio River in southern Ohio. Wheelersburg is approximately east of Portsmouth and west of Ironton. It is in Porte ...

, to Dr. Lewis Carstairs Gunn and Elizabeth LeBreton (Stickney) Gunn. He was middle-named for Frederick Douglas. His family moved to

Sonora, California Sonora is the county seat of Tuolumne County, California. Founded during the California Gold Rush by Mexican miners from Sonora (after which the city is named), the city population was 5,226 during the 2020 Census, an increase of 221 from the ...

, in 1852, where his father bought and ran the ''Sonora Herald''. In 1861, his family moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, where his father edited the ''Times'', then they moved again in 1868 to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. During this time Douglas Gunn learned the newspaper trade, working for the ''San Diego Union''. He lived in New Town San Diego and walked daily to Old Town, where the paper was published. In 1871, he bought the paper, moved it to New Town, and made it a daily paper. Gunn ran the paper until about 1886. Gunn was

mayor of San Diego The mayor of the City of San Diego is the official head and chief executive officer of the U.S. city of San Diego, California. The mayor has the duty to enforce and execute the laws enacted by the San Diego City Council, the legislative branch. ...

from 1889 until 1891. When he took office, the city government was relatively unstable. Gunn was elected upon the resignation of his predecessor, Will Hunsaker, after less than one year in office due to substantial conflict with a partisan council. Prior to Hunsaker, the formerly bankrupt city had been governed by a state-controlled board of trustees for 35 years. In Gunn's election, the Republican party ran two separate tickets in the mayoral election, with Gunn on the "Citizens' Non-Partisan" ticket. Gunn's civic works include establishing a metropolitan police department for San Diego, having the

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

build tracks to San Diego, organizing a company of the National Guard, and publishing an illustrated history of the county, ''Picturesque San Diego'' (1887). Gunn died in November 26, 1891, and is buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in San Diego, along with his parents.

See also