18th century

The first mayor of Philadelphia was Humphrey Morrey, who was appointed to the position by William Penn, the founder of the city and the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania, which became the state of Pennsylvania following the American Revolutionary War. Penn subsequently appointed Edward Shippen under the city charter of 1701. The Philadelphia City Council then elected Shippen to a second term. Subsequent mayors, who held office for one year, were elected by the Philadelphia City Council. The initial mayors of Philadelphia were not compensated and candidates sometimes objected strongly to being selected to the position, sometimes choosing even to pay a fine rather than serve in the position.

In 1704, alderman Griffith Jones was elected but declined to serve, for which he was fined twenty pounds. In 1706, Thomas Story, also an alderman, was similarly fined for refusing office.

In 1745, Abraham Taylor, a Philadelphia alderman, was fined thirty pounds for refusing to assume the office. The city council then elected Joseph Turner, who also refused and was likewise fined.^[2] Others who refused election included Richard Hill (1717), Issac Norris (1722), John Mifflin, and Alexander Stedman. In other cases, William Coxe pleaded illness (1758), Samuel Mifflin (1761), William Coxe and Daniel Benezet (1762), and John Barclay and George Roberts (1792). Robert Wharton declined in 1800 and 1811, and ended up 14 one-year terms, making him the most-often-elected (16 times, including refusals) and longest-serving (14 years) mayor in Philadelphia history.^[3]

In 1747, at the request of retiring Mayor William Attwood, Council resolved to institute an annual salary of 100 pounds for the office.^[2] The same year, Anthony Morris secretly fled to Bucks County to avoid being notified of his election as the city's mayor. When he could not be located after three days of searching, a new election was sheduled, and Attwood was reelected to a second term.

19th century

In 1826, the Philadelphia City Council altered its protocols for electing a mayor, permitting any Philadelphia citizen to run for the office. Beginning in 1839, mayors were elected by popular vote. If no candidate won a majority of the popular vote, then the joint Councils (Select and Common) determined the winner between the two leading candidates. John Swift was the first mayor to be elected directly by the people in the 1840 Philadelphia mayoral election.

The term of office for the mayor was extended to two years in 1854, to three years in 1861, and to four years in 1885. The Act of 1885 also prohibited mayors from succeeding themselves.^[4]

20th century

The consecutive term limitation for mayor was lifted in the 1940s, which permitted incumbent Bernard Samuel to run for reelection. In 1951, the city's Home Rule Charter established a two-term limit for Philadelphia mayors.^[4] The term limit is consecutive, not lifetime.

The mayor of Philadelphia has been held by Democrats for over seven decades, since 1952. The only Republican who has been competitive in the general election for mayor since then was Sam Katz, who came within half a percentage point of being the first Republican mayor of Philadelphia elected in 1999.

Colonial mayors elected by the Common Council

Post-independence mayors elected by the common council

Mayors chosen by popular election

Mayors elected following the Act of Consolidation

Mayors elected under the Home Rule Charter of 1951