Henry Walter Maier was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

, from 1960 to 1988.

Maier was born in 1918 in Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a master's degree from University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

A member of the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

, Maier was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate

Wisconsin State Senate

The Wisconsin Senate, the powers of which are modeled after those of the U.S. Senate, is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature, smaller than the Wisconsin State Assembly...

 in 1950. In 1960 he was elected Milwaukee's mayor, succeeding Frank Zeidler, the last of Milwaukee's socialist mayors. Maier remained in office for 28 years, succeeded by John Norquist

John Norquist

John Olof Norquist is an American politician and 37th mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as mayor from 1988 until he left office in 2004 to lead the Congress for the New Urbanism.-Personal background:...

 in 1988. He was the longest serving mayor in Milwaukee history.

In 1994, Maier died of pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

 at age 76 at his home in Delafield, Wisconsin

Delafield, Wisconsin

Delafield is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, along the Bark River, and a suburb of Milwaukee. The population was 6,472 at the 2000 census....

.

The Henry Maier Festival Park

Henry Maier Festival Park

The Henry W. Maier Festival Park, also known either as the Henry Maier Festival Grounds or as the Summerfest Grounds, is a festival park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States. The Park is named for Henry Maier, Milwaukee's longest-serving mayor....

, the venue for Summerfest

Summerfest

Summerfest is a yearly music festival held at the Henry Maier Festival Park along the lakefront in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. The festival lasts for 11 days, is made up of 11 stages with performances from over 700 bands, and since the mid-1970s has run from late June through early July, usually...

as well as numerous other events, is named in his honor.