Thomas Gahan (April 7, 1847 – April 30, 1905) was an American politician and business executive in Chicago.

Biography

For over 25 years, Gahan was a leader of the

Cook County Democratic Party The Cook County Democratic Party is a political party which represents voters in 50 wards in the city of Chicago and 30 suburban townships of Cook County. The organization has dominated Chicago politics (and consequently, Illinois politics) sinc ...

and for eight years represented

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

on the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

. Gahan also served as president of the Ogden Gas Company.

Personal

Gahan was born in

Arlington Heights, Illinois Arlington Heights is a municipality in Cook County with a small portion in Lake County in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of the city's downtown. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 77,676. Per the ...

on April 7, 1847. Gahan was a member of the Sheridan Club, Cook County Club, Ellerslee Cross Country Club, Iroquois club, and the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

. Gahan was married November 8, 1877 to Miss Sarah A. McNarney. Their children were daughters, Sarah, Olive, Agnes and Rose.

Political

Gahan's first public position was that of police captain of police in what was then Lake, Illinois. Some commentators noted that Gahan maintained civil order there during the great strike of 1884. He then served several terms as town supervisor in Lake. Gahan's role as a Democratic Party power broker began with his successful campaign to elect Julius S. Grinnell as

Illinois Attorney General The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by statewide election. Based in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, the attorney ...

. When the city of Chicago annexed Lake, Gahan was elected as its

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

. Gahan served on the

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...

from 1889 to 1893. During this period, Gahan was instrumental in the nomination and election of Peter Altgeld as governor of Illinois. Altgeld then appoint Gahan as the state railroad and warehouse commissioner. In 1896 Gahan was elected to the Democratic National Committee for Illinois. He was re-elected in 1900 and 1904, but bad health prevented him from serving the third term. Gahan also served as chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party from 1895 to 1902. He was elected as a delegate to each

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

from 1884 to 1904. Gahan was also instrumental in the election of John Patrick Hopkins as mayor of Chicago. Gahan played a significant role in national politics, participating in every presidential campaign from

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

James Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative ...

in 1884 to the

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...

campaign in 1900.

Business

Gahan was associated with Thomas Byrne for many years in general contracting business. The company built three sections of the drainage canal, the Robey Street sewer and all the underground work at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in 1893.

Death

During his last two years, Gahan suffered from

nephritis Nephritis is inflammation of the kidneys and may involve the glomeruli, tubules, or interstitial tissue surrounding the glomeruli and tubules. It is one of several different types of nephropathy. Types * Glomerulonephritis is inflammation of th ...

. On April 29, 1905, he experienced an acute attack, dying the next day at his residence in Chicago. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston.

References

;Attribution *This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: ''Centennial history of the city of Chicago. Its men and institutions. Biographical sketches of leading citizens''. 1905 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gahan, Thomas 1847 births 1905 deaths People from Arlington Heights, Illinois Chicago City Council members Illinois Democrats 19th-century American politicians Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Evanston, Illinois)