A total of 74 men have served as Mayor since the City's
inception; eighteen of them served multiple terms that were not
consecutive. Erastus Corning 2nd served for over
40 years, longer than any other mayor of any other major United States city.
Gerald D.
Jennings (Democrat) is the current Mayor; he was
first elected in 1993, began service on January 1, 1994, and is
currently in his fourth term of office.
Since Thomas M. Whalen III's death in 2002, Jennings has been
the only living Mayor of Albany.
| Mayor |
Start |
End |
Comment |
| Pieter
Schuyler |
1686 |
1694 |
Colonel of the militia in King William's War. Much trusted by
the Iroquois, he took
their five Sachems to London to visit the court of Queen Anne,
1709-1710 (Note: Johannes Wendell was appointed in opposition
in 1690 by political upstart Jacob Leisler in an attempt to
supplant the existing provincial governance structure; no record
exists that Wendell actually served, and Leisler was arrested and
executed in 1691). |
| Johannes Abeel |
1694 |
1695 |
Merchant and trader. Also served as alderman, judge, sheriff
and recorder. |
| Evert Bancker |
1695 |
1696 |
Farmed in Guilderland; one of the few City
Fathers who accepted an appointment to the Council during the
regime of Jacob
Leisler; also served as Justice of the Peace, Commissioner of
Indian Affairs and Master in Chancery; married to sister of Mayor
Johannes Abeel. |
| Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck |
1696 |
1698 |
Served for 30 years as Indian Commissioner. Also Captain in the
militia. Alderman of the first City Board in 1686. His great-grandson-in-law was Philip
Livingston, signer of the Declaration
of Independence. Philip Livingston was first cousin once
removed of mayor Robert Livingston the
Younger. Philip Livingston's wife, Christina Ten Broeck also
was a cousin of Maria Ten Broeck, who married Continental Army
General Gozen "Goose" Van Schaick, son of Albany Mayor Sybrant
Gozen Van Schaick. Goose Van Schaick's sister was married to
Continental Army General Peter Gansevoort-a great-nephew of
Albany Mayor Pieter Van Brugh. |
| Hendrick Hansen |
1698 |
1699 |
Provincial Assemblyman, Alderman, Indian Commissioner, trader,
merchant. |
| Pieter Van
Brugh |
1699 |
1700 |
Surname sometimes spelled Verbrugge. Captain of the militia.
Great-granduncle of Continental General Peter Gansevoort; constable, high
constable, assessor, collector and contractor; one of the last
people to be buried beneath the Old Albany Dutch church. His sister
Catherina was the wife of Hendrick Van Rennsselaer, a
brother-in-law of Albany Mayor Pieter Schuyler. |
| Mayor |
Start |
End |
Comment |
| Jan Jansen Bleecker |
1700 |
1701 |
Born in Holland; emigrated to Albany in 1658. Negotiated support from the Iroquois tribes in the Dutch
struggles against the French in Canada. Also served as City
Chamberlain, Indian Commissioner, Recorder, Justice of the Peace
and as a member of the Provincial Assembly. |
| Johannes Bleecker, Jr. |
1701 |
1702 |
Interpreter to the Indians. Carried captive to Canada in 1686,
returned as year later. Also served as Recorder and member of the
General Assembly. Son of Mayor Jan Jansen Bleecker and brother of
Mayor Rutger Bleecker. City wall strengthened during his term in
expectation of an attack from the French. |
| Albert Janse Ryckman |
1702 |
1703 |
One of the most prominent Albany brewmasters of the late
seventeenth century. Captain of the militia. Deacon in the Dutch
Reformed Church. |
| Johannes Schuyler |
1703 |
1706 |
Militia officer, trader, river transport operator. Brother of
Pieter
Schuyler and grandfather of Continental General Philip
Schuyler. Enacted a law mandating that each house had to build
an eight-foot sidewalk. Also served as Indian Commissioner, member
of Colonial Assembly and Alderman. |
| David Davidse Schuyler |
1706 |
1707 |
Brother of Mayor Myndert Schuyler; “fyre-masters” were ordered
to inspect chimneys during his term. Also served as Alderman,
Justice, County Sheriff, Indian Commissioner and delegate to the
Council of the Onondagas. |
| Evert Bancker |
1707 |
1709 |
See first term entry above |
| Johannes Abeel |
1709 |
1710 |
See first term entry above |
| Robert Livingston the
Younger |
1710 |
1719 |
Nephew of Mayor Robert Livingston. Married to daughter of Mayor
Pieter
Schuyler. Born in Scotland, emigrated in 1687. Accused by the
Boston Board of Trade of being a partner with pirate Captain Kidd since Kidd was using his ship,
he was later exonerated. Member of the Colonial Assembly, Indian
Commissioner, Secretary of the City. |
| Myndert Schuyler |
1719 |
1720 |
Merchant. Ordered construction of small houses outside the city
walls to house Indians who came to trade. Also served as member of
the Assembly, Church Master, Indian Commissioner, Lieutenant
Colonel of the Militia, Alderman. |
| Pieter Van Brugh |
1720 |
1723 |
See first term entry above |
| Myndert Schuyler |
1723 |
1725 |
See first term entry above |
| Johannes Cuyler |
1725 |
1726 |
Elder in the Dutch Church, Indian Commissioner, trader.
Admitted freeman of New York City. Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
Married to daughter of Mayor Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck. |
| Rutger Bleecker |
1726 |
1729 |
Merchant. Son of Mayor Jan Jansen Bleecker, brother of Mayor
Johannes Bleecker; married to widow of Mayor Johannes Abeel.
Enacted laws restricting the sale of intoxicants to Indians. Also
served as Recorder. |
| Johannes DePeyster |
1729 |
1731 |
Son of Johannes DePeyster, a Mayor of New York City and a Huguenot. Purchased Albany’s
first fire-fighting equipment, ladders and fire-hooks. Married
daughter of Mayor Myndert Schuyler. Also served as Recorder, Indian
Commissioner, member of Provincial Assembly, Captain of the
Cavalry, Inspector of Ordinance, Surrogate of Albany County and
Paymaster of the New York Forces. His daughter married Albany Mayor
Volckert Douw. |
| Johannes "Hans" Hansen |
1731 |
1732 |
Trader, son of Mayor Hendrick Hansen, married daughter of Mayor
Johannes Cuyler. Spent much of his youth west of Albany in Indian
lands. |
| Johannes DePeyster |
1732 |
1733 |
See first term entry above |
| Edward Holland |
1733 |
1740 |
First English Mayor of Albany, his father commanded the Albany
garrison. Signed a City Ordinance “To prevent Negroes or Indian
slaves to appear in the streets after eight at night without a
lanthorn and lighted candle in it.” |
| Johannes Schuyler, Jr. |
1740 |
1741 |
Son of Mayor Johannes Schuyler, father of General Philip
Schuyler. Businessman with lucrative government contracts and
large dowry from his New York City Dutch wife's family; appointed
to a second term as Mayor but declined to take required oath of
allegiance and did not serve. Also served as Indian Commissioner
and Alderman. |
| Johannes DePeyster |
1741 |
1742 |
See first term entry above |
| Cornelis Cuyler |
1742 |
1746 |
Fur trader and merchant, represented Albany's interests in
Mohawk Country and Canada; alderman, active member of Indian
Affairs Commission. Son of Mayor Johannes Cuyler, grandson (via
mother) of Mayor Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck, father of Mayor Abraham
Cuyler. |
| Dirck Ten Broeck |
1746 |
1748 |
Merchant, grandson of Mayor Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck. Also
served as City Inspector of Skins, Alderman, Recorder and
Commissioner of Indian Affairs. |
| Jacob Coenraedt Ten Eyck |
1748 |
1750 |
Indian Commissioner, silversmith, judge, and member of Albany’s
Committee of Safety during the Revolutionary
War |
| Robert Sanders |
1750 |
1754 |
English native who married into the influential Dutch Schuyler
family at a time when it was without a strong male leader; his
administration hosted the Albany Congress. |
| Johannes (Hans) Hansen |
1754 |
1756 |
See first term entry above; died in office during this
term |
| Sybrant Gozen Van Schaick |
1756 |
1761 |
Trader and landholder, his administration witnessed some of the
most active local phases of the French and Indian War. |
| Volckert Petrus Douw |
1761 |
1770 |
Merchant and one of the founders of Albany Savings Bank, second
oldest bank in New York. Married daughter of Mayor Johannes
DePeyster. Also served as Alderman, Recorder, Captain of the
Militia, Judge, member of the Colonial Assembly, Indian
Commissioner, Committee of Safety, Commissary of the Northern Army,
New York State Senator. |
| Abraham Cornelis Cuyler |
1770 |
1778 |
Third generation member of his family to serve as mayor,
grandson (via mother) of Mayor Johannes Schuyler. Last mayor of
colonial Albany, cooperated with English interests as local
tensions mounted; arrested by Revolutionaries and exiled to Connecticut; condemned
to death in 1779 under Act of Attainder; after peace with Britain
was secured, he attempted to return to Albany but was unable to
reclaim his property and died in Canada in 1810. |
| John Barclay |
1778 |
1779 |
Member of Albany Committee
of Correspondence; first Mayor under new State government; died
in office. |
| Abraham Ten Broeck |
1779 |
1783 |
Lawyer, banker. Son of Mayor Dirck Ten Broeck. During his term,
Albany was designated the capital of New York and whipping posts
were abolished in the city; a prominent citizen and
co-administrator of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck for
Patroon Stephen Van
Rensselaer, also served as member of the Colonial Assembly,
delegate to the Continental Congress, Brigadier-General of the
Army, President of the Committee of Safety, New York State Senator,
Judge, President of the Bank of Albany. |
| Johannes Jacobse Beeckman |
1783 |
1786 |
Firemaster, alderman, member of New York State Assembly; active
in Albany Committee
of Correspondence |
| John
Lansing, Jr. |
1786 |
1790 |
Also delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention, member of
the Continental Congress, Speaker of the Assembly and Chief Justice
of the New York Supreme Court, among other duties. During his term,
the New York Convention ratified the United States Constitution. He
disappeared on December 12, 1829 in New York City; he was last seen
by the doorman at City Hotel. |
| Abraham Yates, Jr. |
1790 |
1796 |
Financier. Delegate to the Continental Congress, Albany’s first
Postmaster and founding trustee of Union College. Oil
street lamps installed during his term. New York State Senator for
first 13 sessions. Delegate to the Continental Congress. |
| Abraham Ten Broeck |
1796 |
1798 |
See first term entry above |
| Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer |
1798 |
1816 |
Grandson of Philip Livingston. Second longest
total time of service by an Albany Mayor, after Erastus Corning II; ordered the State
Capitol built; Robert Fulton’s steamboat “Clermont”
arrived in Albany on its first voyage during his term, and Schenectady County was created from Albany.
President of the Bank of Albany. |
| Mayor |
Start |
End |
Comment |
| Elisha
Jenkins |
1816 |
1819 |
Key figure in an early Albany scandal in 1807, when he was
assaulted by General Solomon Van Rensselaer after passing a
resolution questioning Van Rensselaer's honesty. A riot ensued, and
Jenkins' nephew, Francis Bloodgood, struck and seriously wounded
Van Rensselaer with a cane. Suits and countersuits were filed.
Jenkins' appointment as Mayor has been viewed as a politically
motivated move and further slight against the Van Rensselaer
family; Jenkins resigned in 1819 and his term was completed by
Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer. Bloodgood later became Mayor of
Albany as well. Jenkins also served as New York State Senator,
State Comptroller, Secretary of State and Quartermaster to the
General Northern Department during the War of 1812. |
| Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer |
1819 |
1821 |
See first term entry above |
| Charles
E. Dudley |
1821 |
1824 |
Merchant. Key early petitioner for the Erie Canal, helped found Cohoes Company to
tap the power of the Mohawk River, Albany Basin of Erie Canal
completed during his term and canal began operation. His widow
donated funds to found Dudley Observatory. |
| Ambrose
Spencer |
1824 |
1826 |
His wife was the sister of Governor DeWitt Clinton; also Attorney General of
New York and Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court, and
member of the United States House of Representatives. |
| James Stevenson |
1826 |
1828 |
Lawyer, one of the first governors of Albany City Hospital.
During his term, a large celebration was held in Albany on the
effective date of the emancipation of slaves in New York; resigned
in 1828. |
| Charles
E. Dudley |
1828 |
1829 |
See first term entry above; resigned in 1829 |
| John Townsend |
1829 |
1831 |
Laid the cornerstone for Albany’s old City Hall in 1829; major
cholera outbreak during his
term. Advised DeWitt Clinton in Erie Canal matters. Also President
of National Commercial Bank, President of the Albany Exchange
Company, President of the Water Commission, Vice President of
Albany Savings Bank. |
| Francis Bloodgood |
1831 |
1832 |
Clerk of the New York
State Supreme Court, President of New York State Bank. See
entry under Elisha Jenkins above for his role in a politically
motivated brawl in 1807. |
| John Townsend |
1832 |
1832 |
See first term entry above |
| Francis Bloodgood |
1833 |
1833 |
See first term entry above |
| Erastus
Corning |
1834 |
1837 |
Founder of the New York Central Railroad and
member of the United States House of Representatives; resigned in
1837. |
| Teunis Van Vechten |
1837 |
1839 |
President of Albany Insurance Company and attorney to Patroon
Stephen Van
Rensselaer; first locomotive arrived from Boston during his
term, though passengers disembarked in Greenbush (Rensselaer) and
crossed the river by ferry; resigned in 1839. |
| Jared Lewis Rathbone |
1839 |
1841 |
Last Mayor chosen by the Common Council, appointed to complete
Mayor Van Vechten's term. President of Albany Medical College. Also
served as Alderman. |
| Teunis Van Vechten |
1841 |
1842 |
See first term entry above |
| Barent Philip Staats |
1842 |
1843 |
Physician, alderman, strong temperance sensibilities. |
| Friend Humphrey |
1843 |
1845 |
Born in Connecticut, relocated to Albany in 1811. Albany Rural
Cemetery was consecrated and Albany’s first telegraph office opened
during his term. Advocate for public morality, he closed public
markets on Sundays. New York State Senator. |
| John Keyes Paige |
1845 |
1846 |
New York State Supreme Court Clerk from 1825 until his election
as Mayor. President of the Canal Bank. |
| William Parmelee |
1846 |
1848 |
Lawyer. Also served as City Attorney, Judge and Recorder. |
| John Taylor |
1848 |
1849 |
Born in England, ran a tallow chandler business, later ran a
brewery, noted for his generosity to the poor and his fine private
library. |
| Friend Humphrey |
1849 |
1850 |
See first term entry above |
| Franklin
Townsend |
1850 |
1851 |
Adjutant General of the State of New York, Assemblyman,
President of New York State National Bank, Vice-President of Albany
Savings Bank; nephew of Mayor John Townsend |
| Eli Perry |
1851 |
1854 |
Merchant in live stock and provisions. Contracted to supply
Union forces during the Civil War but lost his fortune in
the process. Cousin of Commodore William Perry; Albany Law
School organized during his tenure as Mayor. Also served as
Alderman and Member of United States House of Representatives.
Organized Albany Orphan Asylum. |
| William Parmelee |
1854 |
1856 |
See first term entry above; died in office |
| Charles Watson Godard |
1856 |
1856 |
Appointed by Common Council on the death of William Parmalee.
Also served as Captain of the Port of New York, and was a prominent
lecturer and philanthropist. |
| Eli Perry |
1856 |
1860 |
See first term entry above |
| George Hornell Thacher |
1860 |
1862 |
Owned Thacher Carwheel Co., headed Albany’s substantial
humanitarian efforts during the Civil War. Also served as an
Alderman. |
| Eli Perry |
1862 |
1866 |
See first term entry above |
| George Hornell Thacher |
1866 |
1868 |
See first term entry above |
| Charles Edward Bleecker |
1868 |
1870 |
Planned Washington Park. During his term, construction of the
Capitol began. First Mayor to have veto power. |
| George Hornell Thacher |
1870 |
1874 |
See first term entry above; resigned during electoral
challenge |
| John G. Burch |
1874 |
1874 |
Coal and wood dealer and Alderman. Appointed to serve as Mayor
during contested election between George Hornell Thacher and Edmund
Lewis Judson. |
| Edmund Lewis Judson |
1874 |
1876 |
Flour and provision merchant. Election was contested by George
Thacher, contest dragged through the courts for two years; Judson
was declared the winner only weeks before his first term ended.
Also served as Alderman. |
| Anthony Bleecker Banks |
1876 |
1878 |
Principle partner of Banks & Brothers, law publishers,
booksellers, and importers; one of the oldest legal publishing
houses in the United States. Served in New York State Assembly, New
York State Senate. President of the Greenbush
Bridge Company. |
| Michael
Nicholas Nolan |
1878 |
1883 |
Born in Ireland, also served in United States House
of Representatives. Albany's City Hall was destroyed by fire
during his term; he resigned in 1883. He was the first Roman Catholic Mayor of Albany. |
| John Swinburne |
1883 |
1884 |
Physician who served as a Medical Officer during the Civil War,
and Surgeon-in-Chief of American Ambulance Corps during the Franco-Prussian War. Electric
streetlights installed in Albany during his time as Mayor. His
election was contested, and he was not formally seated until near
the end of his elected term. He was one of the four founding
physicians involved in establishing Albany Medical College. |
| Anthony Bleecker Banks |
1884 |
1886 |
See first term entry above |
| John
Boyd Thacher |
1886 |
1888 |
Author, philanthropist, bibliophile. Son of Mayor George
Hornell Thacher, uncle of Mayor John Boyd Thacher II. Also served
as New York State Senator. |
| Edward Augustin Maher |
1888 |
1890 |
President of Union Railway Company and South End Bank. |
| James Hilton Manning |
1890 |
1894 |
Publisher, President of the Weed Parsons Printing Company.
Albany Railway Company (operator of Albany’s trolleys) converted to
electric power during his term, eliminating horse-drawn carriages.
Also President of the Hudson River Telephone Company and President
of National Savings Bank. |
| Oren Elbridge Wilson |
1894 |
1895 |
President of the Board of Education, Chief Accountant for
Whitney’s Dry Goods Company. Also served as School Commissioner and
President of the Board of Education. Appointed a Water Board
favorable to building a filtration plant for the City, and
significantly increased the size of the fire department. (Note:
from this point forward, terms end on December 31, and the next
Mayor's term begins on January 1, hence non-overlapping
years) |
| John
Boyd Thacher |
1896 |
1897 |
See first term entry above |
| Thomas Jefferson Van Alstyne |
1898 |
1899 |
Civil War veteran, attorney; first public water filtration
plant opened during his term. Also served as Judge, member of
United States House of Representatives, and as a trustee of the
Albany Institute. |
| Mayor |
Start |
End |
Comment |
| James Henry Blessing |
1900 |
1901 |
Inventor of the return steam trap; Superintendent of the
Townsend and Jackson Foundry and Machine Works Company; first
Republican elected Mayor in over 20 years, largely due to a split
Democratic ticket following Van Alstyne's retirement; his election
marked the beginning of a two-decade span of control by Albany
Republicans, whose organization was driven by William F. "Billy"
Barnes, a party
organizer of State-wide and national prominence known as the
"President Maker" for his successful efforts to secure the
Republican nomination for William H. Taft in 1912. Albany's first
public baths were opened during Blessing's administration. |
| Charles H.
Gaus |
1902 |
1908 |
Pharmacist and military officer. Major labor unrest at various
times during his term, with butchers, trolley drivers,
stovemounters, printers, composers and others striking. Also served
as School Commissioner and Street Commissioner. Resigned to become
New York State
Comptroller. |
| Henry F. Snyder |
1909 |
1909 |
Completed the fourth term of Charles H. Gaus; after completing
his term as Mayor was elected Postmaster of Albany. |
| James Briggs McEwan |
1910 |
1913 |
President of McEwan Coal Company. Glenn Curtiss flew non-stop from Albany
to New York City during his term. Also served in New York State
Assembly, New York State Senate, and Postmaster. |
| Joseph William Stevens |
1914 |
1917 |
Tobacco merchant, Civil War veteran, also served as Alderman
and President of the Common Council. |
| James R. Watt |
1918 |
1921 |
Last mayor of the Billy Barnes Republican machine era (see
James Henry Blessing above); major corruption scandals related to
Barnes (primarily surrounding the misdirection of coal purchased by
the City to machine favorites at a time of extremely high coal
prices to the general populace) and a lengthy transit strike
allowed Democrats to reclaim nearly every city office behind newly
elected Mayor Hackett; Daniel P. "Uncle Dan" O'Connell and
his brothers were instrumental in rallying Democrats, and went on
to be major Democratic power brokers in Albany, in allegiance with
brothers Parker and Edwin Corning, grandsons of Mayor Erastus
Corning; Edwin was also father to Erastus
Corning 2nd. In 1919, Watt became the first Albany Mayor to win
an election in which women voted. |
| William Stormont Hackett |
1922 |
1926 |
Banker and attorney; admitted to the bar by reading law during a
clerkship. Died while in office, killed in a car accident in Cuba;
contemporary accounts indicate that he would have been the next
Democratic nominee for Governor of New York had he lived. First
mayor elected under the patronage of the emerging O'Connell-Corning
political machine. |
| John Boyd Thacher II |
1927 |
1940 |
Attorney and banker; third longest time of service by an Albany
Mayor; loyal O'Connell-Corning political-patronage selectee;
resigned in 1940. |
| Herman F. Hoogkamp |
1941 |
1941 |
Linotype machinist for the Knickerbocker News.
Completed unexpired term of John Boyd Thacher II |
| Erastus Corning 2nd |
1941 |
1983 |
Insurance salesman. Longest serving Mayor of a major city in
American history. Great-grandson of Mayor Erastus
Corning; with Dan O'Connell, presided over one of
the most successful political patronage machines in American
history. Corning died in office during his eleventh term as
mayor. |
| Frank Salisbury Harris |
1944 |
1945 |
Real estate agent; acting mayor during Corning's military
service in World War II |
| Thomas Michael Whalen
III |
1983 |
1993 |
Attorney. His tenure is noted for its focus on successful
financial and civil service reform, opening the processes of city
hall, using the arts and the city park system as a catalyst for
growth and improving the City's image both domestically and
worldwide. The City was designated an "All-American City" under his
leadership, attained the highest possible bond rating from Moody's
and hosted many successful downtown cultural events. A memorial
statue of him can be found in downtown Albany's Tricentennial
Park.[1] |
| Gerald D. Jennings |
1994 |
Present |
Public school teacher and administrator. Mayor Jennings is the
74th and current Mayor of Albany. He won a shocking upset in the
1993 Democratic mayoral primary over Harold Joyce, who had the
Democratic Party’s formal endorsement and had only recently been
its chairman. This primary victory is often viewed as marking the
end of the Corning-O'Connell machine era in Albany. Mayor Jennings
is currently serving in his fourth term of office, and has been
elected to a fifth term. By the end of his fifth term, he will be
the second longest serving Mayor in Albany's history, after Erastus
Corning 2nd. Also served as Alderman. |
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