Benair C. Sawyer was the Mayor of Pittsburgh from 1862 to 1864.

This name is misspelled. The correct spelling for this historical person is Benair Clement Sawyer.

His family was in the soap making business. While he was mayor the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

's single worst civilian accident occurred when, on September 17, 1862, the Allegheny Arsenal

Allegheny Arsenal

The Allegheny Arsenal, established in 1814, was an important supply and manufacturing center for the Union Army during the American Civil War, and the site of the single largest civilian disaster during the war....

 exploded and claimed the lives of seventy-eight people. Most of the fatalities were young women.

After his political career, the Panic of 1873

Panic of 1873

The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...

 descimated Sawyer's assets, forcing him to move to Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. He would later prosper there from investments in the mining. He died in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

Sources

• A Century and a Half of Pittsburg and Her People
• South Pittsburgh Development Corporation
• Political Graveyard