Robert M. Riddle served as Mayor of Pittsburgh from 1853 to 1854.

Robert M. Riddle was born in 1811, the son of Judge James Riddle. Robert Riddle was involved in the banking business in Philadelphia. He was the editor of the Commercial Journal, and served as Postmaster of Pittsburgh in 1841.

Mayor Riddle was most instrumental in helping found the Republican Party

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...

. During Mayor Riddle's term, Pittsburgh's people suffered through the city's worst cholera

Cholera

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...

 epidemic.

He died of inflammatory rheumatism

Rheumatism

Rheumatism or rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting the joints and connective tissue. The study of, and therapeutic interventions in, such disorders is called rheumatology.-Terminology:...

 in 1858. He is buried in Allegheny Cemetery

Allegheny Cemetery

Allegheny Cemetery is one of the largest and oldest burial grounds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.It is a nonsectarian, wooded hillside park located at 4734 Butler Street in the Lawrenceville neighborhood and bounded by Bloomfield, Garfield, and Stanton Heights...

beneath a columned marker.

Sources

• South Pittsburgh Development Corporation
• Political Graveyard