John Fletcher Darby Explained

John Fletcher Darby
Order:4th Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri
Term Start:April 14, 1835
Term End:October 31, 1837
Predecessor:John W. Johnson
Successor:William Carr Lane
Term Start2:April 14, 1840
Term End2:April 13, 1841
Predecessor2:William Carr Lane
Successor2:John D. Daggett
State3:Missouri
District3:1st
Term Start3:March 4, 1851
Term End3:March 3, 1853
Preceded3:James B. Bowlin
Succeeded3:Thomas H. Benton
Office4:Member of the Missouri Senate
Term4:1838
Birth Date:December 10, 1803
Birth Place:Person County, North Carolina
Death Place:Pendleton, Missouri
Party:Whig
Spouse:Mary Darby

John Fletcher Darby (December 10, 1803May 11, 1882) was a U.S. Representative from Missouri and the fourth mayor of St. Louis.

Darby was born in Person County, North Carolina. He moved with his father to Missouri in 1818, where he worked on a farm before moving to Frankfort, Kentucky, in 1825. Thereafter, Darby studied law and was admitted to the bar. He then returned to Missouri to practice in St. Louis. He was the Mayor of St. Louis from 1835 to 1837 and 1840 to 1841, between which he served as a member of the Missouri Senate, in 1838. During his time as mayor, Darby was very active in getting the first Missouri railroad convention held in St. Louis. Eventually, that led to the incorporation of two railroads in the state. Lafayette Park was built, becoming the first city park west of the Mississippi River.

He was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-second United States Congress (March 4, 1851, to March 3, 1853), after which he returned to St. Louis and became a banker. He died near Pendleton, Missouri, on May 11, 1882, and his remains are interred at Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis.

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