Bailey Gatzert was the eighth mayor of Seattle, Washington, serving from 1875 to 1876. He was the first Jewish mayor of Seattle, narrowly missing being the first Jewish mayor of a major American city (Moses Bloom

Moses Bloom

Moses Bloom was a Jewish American politician, member of both houses of the Iowa General Assembly, and mayor of Iowa City, United States. Various publications name him as the first Jewish mayor of a major American city.- Biography :...

 became mayor of Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...

, in 1873), and has been the only Jewish mayor of Seattle to date.

Gatzert was born in 1829 in Darmstadt

Darmstadt

Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...

, Germany, and emigrated to Natchez, Mississippi

Natchez, Mississippi

Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...

, in 1849, coming west four years later. In 1869 he opened a Seattle branch of Schwabacher Brothers and Company, a hardware and general store he managed as partners with his brothers-in-law Abraham, Louis, and Sigmund Schwabacher.

In addition to being mayor, Gatzert was charter member of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce

Seattle Chamber of Commerce

The Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce is a private, membership-based organization that promotes economic prosperity in the metro region of Seattle, Washington, and provides businesses with tools to grow....

, served on the Seattle City Council

Seattle City Council

The Seattle City Council is committed to ensuring that Seattle, Washington, is safe, livable and sustainable. Nine Councilmembers are elected to four-year terms in nonpartisan elections and represent the entire city, elected by all Seattle voters....

 1872–1873 and 1877–1878, was president of Puget Sound National Bank and Peoples Savings Bank, and co-founded Washington's second synagogue (Seattle's first), Ohaveth Shalom

Ohaveth Sholum Congregation

Ohaveth Sholum Congregation was the first synagogue in Seattle, Washington, USA. Described by the Washington State Jewish Historical Society as "a quasi-Reform temple," it was the Seattle's first Jewish congregation...

, which opened in 1892. Washington's first synagogue was built in Spokane.

The famous sternwheeler Bailey Gatzert

Bailey Gatzert (sternwheeler)

The Bailey Gatzert was a famous sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Columbia River and Puget Sound from the 1890s to the 1920s. She was named after Bailey Gatzert, an early businessman and mayor of Seattle...

is named for him, as is a Seattle elementary school.

Gatzert died in 1893.