Richard J. Daley Biography

Born May 15, 1902
Chicago, Illinois
Died December 20, 1976
Chicago, Illinois

Mayor of Chicago, 1953–1976

Richard J. Daley became one of the most powerful Democratic Party figures in America during his twenty-three years as mayor of Chicago. Known for his administrative abilities and sharp political instincts, he played a vital role in the city's economic growth during the 1950s and 1960s, when many other major cities in the northern United States underwent serious financial declines. But Daley's national reputation suffered permanent damage when Chicago hosted the 1968 Democratic Convention. During that event, Chicago law enforcement units engaged in a shocking "police riot" against antiwar demonstrators. Televised coverage of these clashes convinced many Americans that Democratic Party leaders could not effectively guide the nation in Vietnam or at home.