Stephen Gale Community Academy

Stephen F. Gale

Stephen Gale came to Chicago in 1835 and opened the city's first bookstore. He administered the fire department from 1844 to 1847 and was nominated for mayor of Chicago in 1849, though he did not run. In 1855, he retired. Stephen Gale died in 1905 at the age of 93. Although Gale himself declined to run for public office, he was still a powerful political figure. Within fifteen years after his death, his grandson- William Hale “Big Bill” Thompson- was elected mayor of Chicago.