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Robert P. Linn (died August 22, 2004) was the longest-serving mayor in the United States. Linn, a Republican, served 58 years as the mayor of Beaver, Pennsylvania, a small town (borough) around 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.
Linn was born in Burgettstown and grew up in Beaver. He worked for the Duquesne Light Company, and in 1945 was approached by a group of Republicans who wanted to defeat the incumbent mayor, a position then known as burgess. Initially, he did not want the job, but later gave in. Afterward he changed his mind, taking out a newspaper advertisement telling people to vote for his opponent. He won the election anyway, and took office on January 2, 1946. Linn continued to serve as mayor of the next five decades. The position's original salary was $2,500 per year.
In 1995, he was officially listed in Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-serving mayor in the United States; in a 2002 interview, he said his major accomplishments in office was starting Streetscape, a town beautification project that replaced concrete sidewalks with red bricks and removed power lines from the main street.
Linn died in his sleep at his home in 2004 at the age of 95 and in the middle of his fifteenth term. The town council appointed councilman Thomas Hamilton to replace him.
Sources
- Associated Press. "Robert P. Linn, Country's Longest-Serving Mayor." 24 August 2004. [1] (http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040825/news_1m25linn.html)
- Bradford, Harry. "In 58 years, Beaver mayor has seen it all." Beaver Valley Star: 28 May 2003. [2] (http://www.beavervalleystar.com/eestory.asp?ID=10669)
- Smith, Pohla. "Obituary: Robert Linn / Mayor of Beaver Borough for a record 58 years." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: 24 August 2004. [3] (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04237/366570.stm)
- Vidonic, Bill. "Beaver says farewell to Linn." Beaver County Times/Allegheny Times: 27 August 2004. [4] (http://www.timesonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=12793707&BRD=2305&PAG=461&dept_id=478569&rfi=6)
- National Public Radio. "Longtime Pennsylvania Mayor Dies in Office." Audio file. 24 August 2004. [5] (http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=3871204)
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