Nicholas Girod
Nicholas Girod | |
---|---|
Mayor of New Orleans | |
In office October 8, 1812 – November 5, 1812 | |
Preceded by | Charles Trudeau |
Succeeded by | François Joseph LeBreton Dorgenois |
In office December 5, 1812 – September 4, 1815 | |
Preceded by | François Joseph LeBreton Dorgenois |
Succeeded by | Augustin de Macarty |
Personal details | |
Born | April 1751, France Cluses, Kingdom of Sardinia |
Died | September 1, 1840 (aged 89) New Orleans, Louisiana, US |
Political party | Democratic-Republican |
Nicolas Girod (French spelling) or Nicholas Girod (April 1751—September 1840)[1] was the fifth mayor of New Orleans, from late in 1812 to September 4, 1815.[2] He was the first mayor of the city after Louisiana entered into the Union as a state.
Biography
Nicolas Girod, born into a prominent family in Savoy, migrated to
In 1812, He was the first regularly-elected mayor of New Orleans after Louisiana's admission to the Union. He was initially elected on September 21, 1812. Girod took office on November 5 of that year and served until September 4, 1814; at which date he was re-elected, resigning on September 4, 1815.[3] He was briefly out of office in his first year, most likely due to illness, before retaking his position.
It was during his time in office that The War of 1812 broke out, and he prepared the city to defend itself against a British invasion force. He welcomed in General Andrew Jackson who declared martial law upon entering New Orleans in December 1814, having marched overland from present-day southern Alabama and then crossing Lake Pontchartrain. He ruled over the city until ending martial law in March 1815.[4] After the Battle of New Orleans, Girod retired from politics and returned to manage his many businesses.[3]
Girod was a noted philanthropist. Among other provisions in his 1837
Nicolas Girod died on September 1, 1840, at his home located on the corner of Chartres and St. Louis streets.[3] Both New Orleans and Mandeville, Louisiana, have a Girod Street, named in Nicolas Girod's honor. He never married and had no children.
Plot to free Napoleon
New Orleans was full of excitement in the spring of 1821 when Girod remodeled and furnished a house he owned on Chartres Street, that he inherited from Claude Francois Girod, which is now known as the Napoleon house. Girod was one of the prominent financial sponsors of a plan to rescue Napoleon Bonaparte from his exile in Saint Helena, and bring him back to live in New Orleans at the Napoleon house. The ship Seraphine was constructed and would sail out on its mission commanded by Capt. Bossier and Louisiana pirate Dominique You. The expedition set sail, but returned when signaled by a French merchantman that Napoleon had died May 5, 1821.
See also
References
- ^ Tomb of Nicolas Girod
- ISBN 0-7385-0223-5.
- ^ a b c d e Profile of Nicolas Girod, dated Oct. 7, 2002 at New Orleans Public Library website
- ^ Remini, Robert V. (1999), The Battle of New Orleans.
External links
- Girod administration at New Orleans Public Library website, transcription from a 1940 WPA compilation