William Burns Smith (November 11, 1844 – November 23, 1917) was an American politician. He was the 74th Mayor of Philadelphia, serving from 1884 to 1887. He was a member of the Republican Party.

Life

Smith was born in

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on November 11, 1844, to William Wallace Smith and Anne Simpson. He and his parents moved to Philadelphia when William was 7. At age 11 he became a wood-carver's apprentice. At age 25, he joined the

Pennsylvania National Guard The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia. With more than 18,000 per ...

and became major of the Veteran Corps 14 years later. He was part of the force that put down the

Great Railroad Strike of 1877 The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, sometimes referred to as the Great Upheaval, began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut wages for the third time in a year. This strike finally ended 52 day ...

in Pittsburgh. In 1881, he won a seat on the Select Council representing Philadelphia's 28th Ward after the resignation of Councilman George A. Smith. A year later, despite losing the primary election, he won re-election to the council on the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

line and became president of that body. The Republican Party, which sought to win back the mayor's office from the Democrats, nominated Smith to run against Samuel G. King. Smith won the election with 79,552 votes to King's 70,440 and took office on April 7, 1884. He specifically addressed reforms to the police department at his inauguration and made efforts to reform the city police force. During his term, however, Smith faced an inquiry from the city controller regarding the whereabouts of $8,000 in fees that his office collected. The mayor did provide receipts to the controller, who remained suspicious and requested an audit of the records. The audit suggested that the financial records did not appear to be originals and the mayor failed to provide deposit and checkbooks. This led to the filing of articles of impeachment against the mayor in 1886. Smith died on November 23, 1917, at his home in

Laurel Springs, New Jersey Laurel Springs is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast ...

and is interred at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, William Burns 1844 births 1917 deaths 19th-century American politicians Burials at Mount Moriah Cemetery (Philadelphia) Mayors of Philadelphia Pennsylvania Republicans Politicians from Glasgow People from Laurel Springs, New Jersey Scottish emigrants to the United States