Mayor Fred A. Busse Biography

Mayor of Chicago, 1907-1911

  • Republican Party
  • Elected 39th mayor of Chicago April 2, 1907; defeated William A. Brubaker (Prohibition), Edward F. Dunne (Democrat) and George Koop (Socialist)
  • Inauguration: April 15, 1907
  • First mayor to serve four-year term, second Chicago-born mayor

Personal

  • Born March 3, 1866 in Chicago
  • His father, Gustave Busse, was a captain for the Union in the Civil War.
  • President of Busse Coal Co.
  • Elected to Illinois State House in 1894; re-elected 1896
  • Elected to Illinois State Senate in 1898
  • Elected State Treasurer in 1902
  • President Roosevelt named him postmaster of Chicago in 1905.
  • Secretly married Miss Josephine Lee in 1908; they had no children.
  • Died July 9, 1914 in Chicago
  • Buried in Graceland Cemetery, Chicago

Sources

  • "Death Closes Varied Career of Fred Busse." Chicago Daily Tribune, July 10, 1914, p. 5.
  • Grossman, James R., Ann Durkin Keating and Janice L. Reiff, editors. Encyclopedia of Chicago. University of Chicago Press, 2004.
  • "Roosevelt Glad for Busse." Chicago Daily Tribune, April 3, 1907, p. 5.
Print this page