John S. Herron served as the 47th Mayor of Pittsburgh from 1933 to 1934.

Early life

Born in Oswego, New York

Oswego, New York

Oswego is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 18,142 at the 2010 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in north-central New York and promotes itself as "The Port City of Central New York"...

, Herron came to Pittsburgh as a blue-collar worker and quickly entered leadership as President of the Bricklayers Union

International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers

The International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers is a labor union in the United States and Canada which represents bricklayers, pointers/cleaners/caulkers, stone and marble masons, cement masons, plasterers, tilesetters, terrazzo and mosaic workers...

. Using his labor connections Herron ran for City Council successfully in 1913 and served on council till his victory in the mayor's race of 1933.

Pittsburgh politics

Herron served only one term as Pittsburgh Mayor and had an uneventful administration. During his term the city adopted the repeal of the commonwealth's "Sunday Blue Law

Blue law

A blue law is a type of law, typically found in the United States and, formerly, in Canada, designed to enforce religious standards, particularly the observance of Sunday as a day of worship or rest, and a restriction on Sunday shopping...

s" prohibiting business and sports for 24 hours. The repeal of the Blue Laws made it possible for the future Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

 to join the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. Upon leaving the mayor's office he served as County Commissioner until his death in 1947.

To date, Herron holds the distinction of having been the last Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

mayor of the City of Pittsburgh.