Douglas Gunn

Who was Douglas Gunn?

Douglas Gunn was an American scholar, publisher, pioneer and Republican politician from California.

Born Lewis Douglas Gunn on August 31, 1841, in Wheelersburg, Ohio to Dr. Lewis Carstairs Gunn and Elizabeth LeBreton Gunn. He was middle-named for Frederick Douglas. His family moved to Sonora, California in 1852, where his father bought and ran the Sonora Herald. In 1861, his family moved to San Francisco, California where his father edited the Times, then they moved again in 1868 to San Diego. During this time Douglas Gunn learned the newspaper trade, working for the San Diego Union. He lived in New Town San Diego and walked daily to Old Town, where the paper was published. In 1871 he bought the paper, moved it to New Town, and made it a daily paper. Gunn ran the paper until about 1886.

Gunn was mayor of San Diego from 1889 until 1891. When he took office, the city government was relatively unstable. Gunn was elected upon the resignation of his predecessor, Will Hunsaker, after less than one year in office due to substantial conflict with a partisan council. Prior to Hunsaker, the formerly-bankrupt city had been governed by a state-controlled board of trustees for 35 years.