James Otis was a politician from San Francisco. James Otis was born in Boston, Massachusetts on August 11, 1826 Otis then moved to San Francisco for the 1849 California Gold Rush

California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...

. Otis then became an importer and exporter in San Francisco. He then became a member of the Board of Supervisors in 1859 and served until 1862. Otis was then elected Mayor of San Francisco

Mayor of San Francisco

The Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of San Francisco's city and county government. The mayor has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the legislative branch....

 in 1873 and was sworn in on December 1, 1873. James Otis died of diphtheria

Diphtheria

Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...

 in San Francisco on October 30, 1875 while still serving his term as mayor. James Otis was the only mayor to die in office until George Moscone

George Moscone

George Richard Moscone was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California, US from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. Moscone served in the California State Senate from 1967 until becoming Mayor. In the Senate, he served as...

's assassination in 1978.