Bernard F. Dickmann

Bernard Francis Dickmann (September 7, 1888 in St. Louis, Missouri – December 9, 1971 in Collins, Mississippi) was the 34th mayor of St. Louis from 1933 to 1941. Biography Dickmann started work at the age of 16, working for a lumber company in St. Louis. During World War I he enlisted in the Marine Corps. His later business career was in real estate. He was active in the St. Louis Real Estate Exchange, serving on the board of directors, and serving as its president in 1931. In April 1933, Dickmann was elected Mayor of St. Louis. The United States was suffering from the effects of the Great Depression, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt had just been elected president. Dickmann's election marked the first time in 24 years that a Democrat had been elected Mayor of St. Louis. It also marked the first time a Democrat was elected with the support of a formidable African American political organization: The Co-operative Civic Association led by Jordan Chambers. Dickmann kept black support by building a long-promised modern hospital for the black community, which Republican Mayor Henry Kiel had promised would be paid for by the $87 million 1923 bond issue. By fulfilling his promise, Dickmann helped transform St. Louis from majority Republican to majority Democrat.