Aloys P. Kaufmann

Who was Aloys P. Kaufmann?

Aloys P. Kaufmann was the thirty-sixth Mayor of St. Louis, serving from 1943 to 1949.

Kaufmann graduated from the Benton College of Law and practiced law in St. Louis. He was active in Republican Party politics in St. Louis, and served as a member of the City party's central committee from 1936 to 1943. In 1943, he was elected President of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, defeating Democrat Joseph Darst in the April election.

In 1943, Mayor William D. Becker was killed in a glider crash at Lambert Airport in St. Louis. Under the provisions of the city charter, Kaufmann, as President of the Board of Aldermen, became mayor for the remainder of Becker's term. Kaufmann was elected to his own term of office in 1945, the last time a Republican has been elected mayor of the city.

During his time as mayor, Kaufmann worked to pass a $43,000,000 bond issue, which was approved by the voters in April 1944. One of the items funded by the bond issue was an expansion of Lambert Airport from 350 acres to 1,400 acres.