Cristobal Aguilar
| Cristobal Aguilar | |
|---|---|
| 10th Mayor of Los Angeles | |
|
In office May 10, 1866 – May 8, 1867 |
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| Preceded by | Jose Mascarel |
| Succeeded by | Damien Marchesseault |
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In office August 8, 1867 – December 7, 1868 |
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| Preceded by | Damien Marchesseault |
| Succeeded by | Joel Turner |
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In office December 9, 1870 – December 5, 1872 |
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| Preceded by | Joel Turner |
| Succeeded by | James R. Toberman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1816 California |
| Died | April 11, 1886 (aged 69–70) East Los Angeles, California |
Jose Cristobal Aguilar (1816 – April 11, 1886) was a pioneer of 19th-century Los Angeles, California, politics in the early days of American rule. He was the last Hispanic mayor of the city until 2005.
Aguilar, also known as Cristoval, was born in California in 1816 to Jose María Aguilar and María Ygnacia Elizalde.
The Aguilars lived in an adobe facing the Los Angeles Plaza on what is now North Main Street. This house was a prominent landmark that later served as the town calabozo, or jail, and then as the town's first hospital, in 1858.
On October 31, 1848, Aguilar married Maria Dolores Yorba at the San Gabriel Mission. His wife was the daughter of José Antonio de los Remidios Yorba and María Catalina Verdugo. The Yorbas possessed vast land holdings including most of the Santa Ana Valley (in present-day Orange County, California).
In the 1870 census, the Aguilars had four children living with them: Librada, 19; Jose M., 17; Matias, 12; Guadalupe, 10, and Rosa, 7.
Aguilar could not speak English, but, as reported by Los Angeles historian H.D. Barrows in 1899, he "made a good and acceptable Mayor because of the general familiarity of citizens of all nationalities then residing here, with the Spanish tongue."
Aguilar "held prominent office under Mexican rule as far back as 1883-4." After the transfer of California from Mexico to the United States, the Mexican ayuntamiento was abolished in favour of a city council system. A Democrat, Aguilar was elected to the new Los Angeles Common Council on July 1, 1850, and he served in 1850-51, 1855–56, 1858–59 and 1861-62. He was mayor of Los Angeles in 1866-67, 1867–68 and 1870-72.
Aguilar was elected to the Board of Supervisors three times, serving in 1854-56, 1860 and 1862-64.
Aguilar was first elected mayor on May 7, 1866. The election was certified three days later and he assumed office that same day. In that same year he signed an ordinance to set aside five acres of land as a "Public Square or Plaza, for the use and benefit of the Citizens in common," which land later was named Pershing Square.
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