George Hewston (September 11, 1826 – September 4, 1891) was an American politician, educator, and physician. He was appointed the 16th

Mayor of San Francisco The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by t ...

upon the death of James Otis. He was sworn in on November 4, 1875, and served until December 5, 1875.

Biography

Hewston was born on September 11, 1826 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He apprenticed himself to a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and then took a

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

from the Philadelphia College of Medicine and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. He moved with his family to San Francisco to escape the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Hewston established a new medical practice upon his arrival, supplementing his income by lecturing at the Toland College of Medicine (later known as

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...

). His skill at lecturing brought him to the attention of the People's Party, which nominated him for

San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco. Government and politics The City and County of San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, being simultaneously a c ...

in 1873. He was appointed mayor to finish James Otis's unfinished term. During his brief term, Hewston sat in on an investigation into charges against six policemen. He also refused to make inflated payments for unspecified repairs. He was known for making a speech condemning the Chinese for bringing

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

into the city. After his term, he served on the commission to plan California's celebration of America's centennial. His final political activity was as chair of the Anti-Monopoly Party, which sought to stop the transfer of federal lands for the railroads. Hewston then returned to the

lecture circuit The "lecture circuit" is a euphemistic reference to a planned schedule of regular lectures and keynote speeches given by celebrities, often ex-politicians, for which they receive an appearance fee. In Western countries, the lecture circuit has bec ...

and travelled along the East Coast, collecting many books along the way. He eventually amassed some 2000 volumes for his private library. He died on September 4, 1891 in San Francisco of

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied b ...

. He was interred at Masonic Cemetery in San Francisco, and when that closed around 1940 he was reinterred at Woodland Cemetery in Colma,

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 ...

References

* Heintz, William F., ''San Francisco's Mayors: 1850–1880. From the Gold Rush to the Silver Bonanza''. Woodside, CA: Gilbert Roberts Publications, 1975. (Library of Congress Card No. 75-17094) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hewston, George 1826 births 1891 deaths Mayors of San Francisco Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Politicians from Philadelphia San Francisco Board of Supervisors members University of California, San Francisco faculty California Populists Deaths from kidney disease People's Party (United States) elected officials 19th-century American politicians Burials at Masonic Cemetery (San Francisco)