Theodore Lyman II

Theodore Lyman II(September 20, 1792 – July 18, 1849) was an Americanphilanthropist,politician,and author, born inBoston,the son ofTheodore Lymanand Lydia Pickering Williams. He graduated fromHarvardin 1810, visitedEurope(1812–14), studied law, and withEdward Everett,revisited Europe in 1817–19. From 1819 to 1822 he was an aide toJohn Brooks,theGovernor of Massachusetts.He became brigadier general of militia in 1823, and from 1820 to 1825 he served in theState Legislature,

Theodore Lyman II
5thMayor of Boston, Massachusetts
In office 1834–1836
Preceded by	Charles Wells
Succeeded by	Samuel T. Armstrong
Personal details
Born	September 20, 1792 Boston,Massachusetts
Died	July 18, 1849(1849-07-18)(aged 56) Brookline,Massachusetts
Political party	DemocraticandWorking Men's
Relations	George W. Lyman(brother)
Alma mater	Harvard University

Mayor of Boston

In 1833 Lyman defeated William Sullivan, theWhigcandidate,and was elected the firstDemocraticMayor of Boston. He served for two years from January 1834 through January 1836. Lyman was such a popular mayor that when he ran for reelection he was nominated by theWhigs.

Views on slavery and equality

As Mayor of Boston, Lyman had to keep the peace between radicalabolitionists,and industrialists who feared anti-slavery agitators would cause southern plantation owners to cut ties with the northern mills and merchants. In August 1835 he presided over an anti-abolition meeting in Boston [citation??] and then, a few weeks later, during an anti-Abolitionistriot,he rescuedWilliam Lloyd Garrisonfrom themoband confined him to jail to save his life.

He was a liberal benefactor of theMassachusetts Horticultural Societyand of the Farm School and was the founder of theState Reform School for Boys,areform schoolinWestboroughto which he gave $72,000.

Grave of Theodore Lyman, Mt. Auburn Cemetery

Writings

• Three Weeks in Paris(1814)
• The Political State ofItaly(1820)
• Account of theHartford Convention(1823); in which he defended those who were concerned in that convention as an expression of harbored hatred for both Presidents, John Adams and J.Q. Adams. (SEEEssex Junto)
• The Diplomacy of the United States with Foreign Nations(1828); a work which is still valuable for the period covered.

See also

• 1830 Boston mayoral election–lost
• 1831 Boston mayoral election–lost
• 1832 Boston mayoral election–lost
• 1833 Boston mayoral election–won
• 1834 Boston mayoral election–won
• 1837 Boston mayoral election–lost
• Timeline of Boston,1830s

Footnotes

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Gilman, D. C.;Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905).New International Encyclopedia(1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title=(help)