Taylor, Edward Robeson, 1838-1923

Born in Springfield, Illinois, and trained as a lawyer, Edward Robeson Taylor was elected San Francisco's mayor, serving 1907-1909. A leader in the city's cultural circles, and a San Francisco Public Library trustee, he was also a poet. Taylor died in San Francisco.

Edward Robeson Taylor (1838-1923) came to San Francisco, Calif. in 1862 from Midwest. There he studied both medicine (which he practiced until 1867) and law (from 1872). Taylor was active in Democratic Party politics (where he was a protege of ex-Governor Haight) and was Mayor of San Francisco (1904-1907). Taylor was also active in cultural affairs of San Francisco, as a trustee of Public Library and as a poet. Subject of this letter to William Keith is one of Taylor's volumes of his own poetry, "Gold" (1910).

Taylor was the mayor of San Francisco, California (1907-1912). He was a lawyer and a poet in California before he became mayor, publishing an 1898 book of sonnets based on the paintings of William Keith.