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John M. Snowden

American mayor (1776-1845)

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 19, 2026
Entity authorityQ4859140 ↗
Source-derived summary

John Maugridge Snowden (January 13, 1776 – April 1, 1845) served as Mayor of Pittsburgh City from 1825 to 1828.

Early life

Snowden was born in Philadelphia, in the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania, to a family of Revolutionary-era Patriots. His father, William Snowden, was a hero of the war, being imprisoned by the British forces and dying in their custody. His wife Elizabeth Moor, was a major advisor to General Washington during his Pennsylvania campaigns. In 1811 Snowden began a printing and book business in Pittsburgh. He eventually bought and edited his own newspaper, the Pittsburgh Mercury. Like his predecessor as mayor, John Darragh, he used his appointment as president of the Bank of Pittsburgh to launch his mayoral candidacy.

Pittsburgh politics

Snowden served terms as Allegheny County Recorder and Treasurer before being elected mayor of Pittsburgh in 1825. He served until 1828.

Later life

Snowden died suddenly of heart disease on April 1, 1845, at his residence in Allegheny City, now Pittsburgh's North Side.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “John M. Snowden” as american mayor (1776-1845). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1776, 1845, 1825, 1828—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1776-01-13. The account is most persuasive where John, Snowden and American can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as american mayor (1776-1845). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4859140. VIAF identifies the subject as 40920965. The Library of Congress control number is n88057270. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1776, 1845, 1825 and 1828.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “John M. Snowden”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow John M. Snowden primary sources, John M. Snowden archive and John research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “John M. Snowden”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “John M. Snowden” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.