The mayor of Pittsburgh is the chief executive of the government of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Pittsburgh.
Prior to the 1816 city charter, the Borough of Pittsburgh had its council elect a chief burgess among themselves. After the borough was rechartered as a city, its first seven mayors were selected in a similar fashion as the chief burgesses had been under borough council. It was not until Mayor Samuel Pettigrew in the 1830s that general elections of popular vote were conducted among all the city's voters to determine who would hold the mayor's office. Pettigrew was both the last mayor selected by council and the first generally elected mayor of Pittsburgh. From 1901 to 1903 the state legislature took control of the city on the grounds of corruption by former Mayor William J. Diehl with the passage of the so-called "ripper bill" and appointed the unelected "recorders" Joseph Brown and Adam Brown, who were answerable only to the state government. Since 1903, all mayors have been popularly elected. As of 2026, the current mayor is Corey O'Connor.
Chief burgesses (1794–1813)
No.Chief BurgessTermPartyNotes1George Robinson1794–c. 1800Arrested on orders from President George Washington for rebel activity during the Whiskey Rebellion.2John Park1800–18013Dr. George Stevenson1801–18024Isaac Craig1802–1803Federalist5James O'Hara1803–1804FederalistFormerly 6th Quartermaster General of the United States Army and Revolutionary War veteran.6General Pressley Neville1804–1805Revolutionary War veteran.7General John Wilkinsc. 1805–c. 1812Formerly 7th and last Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army8William Steele1812–1813
Mayors (since 1816)
No.MayorTermPartyNotesOpposition1Ebenezer Denny #1816–1817FederalistFirst "appointed" mayor after city charter, resigned from office with health concerns, Revolutionary War veteran.2John Darragh1817–1825FederalistAppointed by City Council, formerly president of the bank of Pittsburgh.3John M. Snowden1825–1828Democratic-Republican, JacksonianAppointed by City Council, formerly president of the bank of Pittsburgh and county treasurer, edited the Pittsburgh Mercury.4Magnus Miller Murray1828–1830Jacksonian, DemocratAppointed by City Council5Matthew B. Lowrie1830–1831Anti-MasonicAppointed by City Council, brother was a U.S. Senator and son became Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.6Magnus Miller Murray1831–1832DemocratAppointed by City Council7Samuel Pettigrew1832–1836DemocratAppointed by City Council, later won the first mayoral electionJackson and Clay Democratic and Workingmen's 8Dr. Jonas R. McClintock1836–1839Democrat Elected mayor at the age of 28, became the first man to assume the office from a general election. Later led a Union company in the American Civil War.City City Improvement 9William Little1839–1840Independent10William W. Irwin1840–1841Whig (and Anti-Masonic)Elected to congress and appointed United States Ambassador to Denmark after leaving office.11James Thomson1841–1842Whig12Alexander Hay1842–1845Whig After office he was commander in the Mexican War, and captain in the Civil War.Volunteer Independent/Volunteer 13William J. Howard1845–1846WhigLongtime president of the "Guardians of the Poor", forerunner of the Salvation Army14William Kerr1846–1847Democrat15Gabriel Adams1847–1849WhigAfter office was appointed state judge16John Herron1849–1850WhigBefore office was a captain in the Mexican War, hero of the Siege of Veracruz.17Joseph Barker1850–1851People's and Anti-CatholicElected while in jail for inciting anti-Catholic and anti-Masonic riots. The itinerant preacher was released to serve his one-year mayoral term. Barker repeatedly sought re-election, but failed. Later, he was decapitated when he got too close to a train.18John B. Guthrie1851–1853DemocratFather of future mayor George W. Guthrie, served in Mexican War, was the longtime Customs Collector for Pittsburgh19Robert M. Riddle1853–1854WhigFormerly Postmaster of Pittsburgh, edited the Commercial Journal20Ferdinand E. Volz1854–1856Whig Oversaw cholera epidemic responseWhig-Democratic fusion (anti-Know Nothing) 21William Bingham1856–1857American22Henry A. Weaver1857–1860RepublicanAfter office served as U.S. Collector of Revenue for Pittsburgh23George Wilson1860–1862RepublicanFormerly Pittsburgh Public Schools Director24Benair C. Sawyer1862–1864RepublicanAfter office moved to Colorado then to California making a fortune in mining25James Lowry, Jr.1864–1866Union City26William C. McCarthy1866–1868RepublicanFormerly a legend as a City fire fighter and commander, during administration ended the police practice of assuring "All is Well" on the hour, later served as city controller.27James Blackmore1868–1869Workingmen'sFormerly Chief Clerk of City28Jared M. Brush1869–1872RepublicanFormerly city councilor, served as a minister during the Civil War.29James Blackmore1872–1875DemocratFormerly Chief Clerk of City30William C. McCarthy1875–1878RepublicanFormerly a legend as a Pittsburgh Fire Fighter and commander, during administration ended the police practice of assuring "All is Well" on the hour, later served as city controller.31Robert Liddell1878–1881DemocratBefore and after office was a brewer and liquor dealer.Miles S. Humphreys32Robert W. Lyon1881–1884DemocratEarned two Purple Hearts in the Civil War, oil businessman before being elected, worked in a steel mill after leaving office.Miles S. Humphreys33Andrew Fulton1884–1887RepublicanFormer city councilman; temporarily retired to breed horses in Colorado; later served as county director of the Division of Weights and MeasuresRobert Liddell34William McCallin1887–1890RepublicanFormer County Coroner and County SheriffBernard J. McKenna35Henry I. Gourley1890–1893RepublicanFormer city councilman; became city clerk after officeJohn H. Bailey36Bernard J. McKenna1893–1896DemocratFormer city councilman and firefighterJohn S. Lambie & F.C. Beinhauer37Henry P. Ford1896–1899RepublicanIndustrialist, with interests in knife manufacturing.George W. Guthrie38William J. Diehl #1899–1901RepublicanFormer Deputy Sheriff; impeached on corruption chargesJohn C. O'Donnell39Adam M. Brown1901RepublicanFormer Court of Common Pleas judge; California Gold Rush speculator; earned the nickname of "Major" due to his military servicenon-elected40Joseph O. Brown †1901–1903RepublicanFormer Allegheny County Prothonotary and city Director of Public Safety; died in office of a heart attacknon-elected41William B. Hays1903–1906Citizens / DemocratIndustrialist, with interests in coal and lumberJohn C. Haymaker42George W. Guthrie1906–1909DemocratAttorney; son of former mayor John B. Guthrie; served as United States Ambassador to Japan after office.Alexander M. Jenkinson43William A. Magee1909–1914RepublicanFormer Allegheny County Assistant District Attorney and city councilman44Joseph G. Armstrong1914–1918RepublicanFormer city councilman and Allegheny County Coroner; nicknamed "Joe the Builder" for his extensive public works projectsStephen G. Porter45Edward V. Babcock1918–1922RepublicanFormer city councilman; later served as Allegheny County Commissioner; personally purchased for county parklands. Purchased thousands of acres of south Florida timberland, estate sold to the state for conservation in the 1990s.William A. Magee46William A. Magee1922–1926RepublicanFormer City Council PresidentWilliam N. McNair47Charles H. Kline #1926–1933RepublicanFormer State Representative and State Senator; convicted in 1932 by jury on 49 counts of corruption, but charges later overturned on appeal; resigned due to party pressure over corruption charges James F Malone, Tom Dunn48John S. Herron1933–1934RepublicanFormer City Council President non-elected49William N. McNair #1934–1936DemocratIdealistic attorney; commended for his honesty, but criticized for his inability to get along with city council or the bureaucracy; arrested in 1935 for failing to authorize the return of a fine to an illegal gambler whose conviction had been overturned; resigned due to political infighting John Herron50Cornelius D. Scully1936–1946DemocratFormer City Council President Bob Waddell Harmar Denny51David L. Lawrence #1946–1959DemocratNamed one of the all-time 50 greatest American mayors; elected governor in 1958; former Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman, Secretary of the Commonwealth, and U.S. Collector of Revenue; considered a "king maker" by Democratic Party Conventions due to his crafting of compromise candidates of U.S. Presidents Truman and the Kennedy/Johnson tickets.Bob WaddellTice RyanLeo KaneJohn Drew52Thomas Gallagher1959DemocratFormer State Representative and City Council President; became mayor at age 75 non-elected53Joseph M. Barr1959–1970DemocratFormer State Senator Will CrehanVince Rovitto54Peter F. Flaherty #1970–1977DemocratFormer city councilman; resigned after he was appointed Deputy U.S. Attorney General by President Carter; Democratic nominee for governor in 1978, and for U.S. Senate in 1974 and 1980, losing all three races by close margins John K. Tabor"Fusion" Democrat Unopposed55Richard Caliguiri †1977–1988Independent DemocratFormer City Council President; won 1978 election as an independent, after initially deciding not to run due to a lack of support from party leaders; died in office from amyloidosis Tom Foerster & Vince CosettiDemocratFred GoehringerHenry Sneath56Sophie Masloff1988–1994DemocratFormer City Council President; began her career in Pittsburgh politics as a Court secretary in 1938 at age 18 Uncontested57Thomas J. Murphy, Jr. ♥1994–2006DemocratFormer State Representative; lectures internationally on cities as a senior fellow at Washington, DC–based Urban Land Institute Duane Darkins & Kathy Matta Harry Frost James Carmine58Bob O'Connor †2006DemocratFormer City Council President; died in office from a brain tumor. Joe Weinroth & Titus North59Luke Ravenstahl ♥2006–2014DemocratFormer City Council President; became mayor at age 26, making him the youngest mayor of a top 100 city. Mark DeSantis Dok Harris & Kevin Acklin60Bill Peduto ♥2014–2022DemocratFormer city councilman Joshua Wander Unopposed61Ed Gainey ♥2022–2026DemocratFormer state representative; became the first African-American mayor of the city Tony Moreno 62Corey O'Connor ♥2026–PresentDemocratFormer controller of Allegheny County and city councilman Tony Moreno
† Died in office; # Resigned from office ; ♥ Still living
Longest tenures 13 years (1946–1959) – David L. Lawrence 12 years (1994–2006) – Thomas J. Murphy, Jr. 11 years and 1 month (1977–1988) – Richard Caliguiri 10 years and 1 month (1959–1970) – Joseph M. Barr 9 years and 3 months (1936–1946) – Cornelius D. Scully 8 years and 9 months (1909–1914, 1922–1926) – William A. Magee 8 years (2014–2022) – Bill Peduto 7 years and 11 months (1817–1825) – John Darragh 7 years and 4 months (2006–2014) – Luke Ravenstahl 7 years and >3 months (1970–1977) – Peter F. Flaherty 7 years and <3 months (1926–1933) – Charles H. Kline
The listed terms are rounded to the nearest month.
See also History of Pittsburgh List of mayors of Allegheny, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh City Council Pittsburgh Mayoral Chief of Staff
Notes
References
Sources
Office of Prothonotary; Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Historic Pittsburgh Collection Political Graveyard: Pittsburgh
External links Mayors in crisis through history Pittsburgh mayoral election results Pittsburgh mayors