Daniel Rapine

Daniel Rapine (born June 11, 1768 in Germantown , Province of Pennsylvania , † May 11, 1826 in Washington, DC ) was an American politician . He was Mayor of Washington DC in 1812 and 1813

Career

Daniel Rapine was a trained printer and later worked as a bookseller. In this capacity he came to the new federal capital Washington, which the federal government moved into in 1800. Between 1802 and 1806 he was a member of the local city council, in which he sat again in 1812. In that year the capital's political structures were reformed. The mayor appointed by the respective US president was now elected by the city council. Rapine was one of the candidates at the time. His opponent was the previous incumbent Robert Brent . The election ended in a draw and Rapine was drawn by lot as the new mayor. He held this office for one year (June 1812 to June 1813). Since the British-American War had broken out at that time , Rapine was also busy building defenses for his city. But these remained so weak that they could not withstand the British attack the following year. It is also worth noting that until 1871 the mayor of Washington did not administer the entire District of Columbia . The then independent city of Georgetown provided its own mayor until 1871.

After the end of his time as mayor, Rapine worked again as a bookseller. He died in Washington on May 11, 1826.

Web links

• Daniel Rapine in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• The Political Graveyard

predecessor	Office	successor
Robert Brent	Mayor of Washington 1812–1813	James H. Blake