Robert W. Lyon

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This article is about the mayor of Pittsburgh, for other people named Robert Lyon see Robert Lyon (disambiguation).

"Robert W. Lyon" (May 22, 1842 – October 9, 1904), served as Mayor of Pittsburgh from 1881 to 1884.

[edit] Early life

Mayor Lyon was born in Butler County, Pennsylvania north of Pittsburgh in 1842. He joined the 102nd Pennsylvania Volunteers during the U.S. Civil War. He earned purple hearts at the Battle of Fair Oaks and again at the Battle of Cold Harbor. When he came home from war Lyon made a small fortune in the petroleum industry.

[edit] Pittsburgh politics

Mayor Lyon won election in 1881 and was best known as "the working man's mayor." He guided city hall into the completion of the Smithfield Street Bridge and the successful annexation of the Garfield neighborhood. The AFL, forerunner to the AFL-CIO, was founded in Pittsburgh under his administration.

See also: List of Mayors of Pittsburgh

[edit] Later life

On stepping down from the mayor's office in 1884, Mayor Lyon--"the working man's mayor"--went to work in a steel mill and worked in county government until his death in 1904. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery in the west suburb of McKees Rocks.