William Butler Ogden
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William Butler Ogden (June 15, 1805 - August 3, 1877) was the first Mayor of Chicago, Illinois.
Ogden was born in Walton, New York. Although William B. Ogden's first impression of Chicago was poor, he came to appreciate the fledgling city.
During his term as Chicago's first mayor, 1837-1838, the land rush that had brought him to the Midwest went bust, but Ogden managed to help the city weather the storm.
Ogden designed the first swing bridge over the Chicago River and donated the land for Rush Medical Center.
Throughout his later life Ogden was heavily involved in the building of railroads. He built the first railroad from Chicago in 1848, the Galena & Chicago Railroad, which ran from Chicago to a point ten miles west of town. Later he served on the board of the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad and lobbied with many others for congressional approval and funding of the Transcontinental Railroad. After the 1862 Pacific Railroad Act Ogden was named as the first President of the Union Pacific. Ogden was a good choice for the first President, but his experience in the burgeoning railroad business he was most likely not the first reason he was chosen. Ogden was a clever man who had much power and many political connections. When Ogden was named as President the Union Pacific wasn't fully funded and hadn't laid a single mile of track, as at this time the Union Pacific was still only a dream created by an act of congress.As part of the 1862 Pacific Railroad Act Congress named several existing railroad companies to complete portions of the project. Several key areas needed to link the East (Chicago) to the West had none, and hence the Union Pacific was formed by congress. Ogden was a fierce supporter at a time of great unrest for the country, he was quoted as saying... This project must be carried through by even-handed wise consideration and a patriotic course of policy which shall inspire capitalist of the country with confidence. Speculation is as fatal to it as Secession is to the Union. Whoever speculates will damn this project. As history now shows, eventually Ogden and many others got their wish. Several railroads later, Ogden Flats, Utah, where the Golden Spike was driven, was named for him.
On October 8, 1871, Ogden lost most of his possessions in the Great Chicago Fire. He also owned a lumber company in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, which burned the same day.
In 1860, Ogden switched to the Republican Party, which shared his views regarding slavery, although he left the party over a dispute with Abraham Lincoln. Ogden felt that the Emancipation Proclamation was premature. Following his defection from the Republican party, Ogden retired from politics and moved back to his native New York.
| Preceded by: nobody | Mayor of Chicago 1837 – 1838 | Succeeded by: Buckner Stith Morris |
| Preceded by: nobody | President of the Union Pacific Railroad 1862 – 1863 | Succeeded by: John Adams Dix |