Charles Boxton

Charles Boxton (April 24, 1860 – August 29, 1927) was an American dentist, military officer and politician who served as the 27th mayor of San Francisco for seven days, from July 9 to July 16, 1907.

Early life and career

Boxton was born in Shasta County, California on April 24, 1860. He attended the public schools of San Francisco and then entered a dental apprenticeship. Afterwards he entered the University of California, where he earned a D.D.S. degree, and then entered private practice in San Francisco. He enlisted in the California National Guard in 1884, rising to the rank of captain by 1892.

Boxton soon left his dental practice to fight in the Philippine–American War, serving as a major in the 1st California Regiment. He ended his service as a lieutenant colonel. After returning home, he entered politics and was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors as a Republican in 1899. He also became dean of the Dental Department at San Francisco's College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Mayor of San Francisco After the conviction of mayor Eugene Schmitz on bribery charges in July 1907, Boxton was selected by Board of Supervisors to serve as mayor temporarily until a new mayor could be elected at a convention later that same month.

One day after his election as mayor, Boxton was called as the first witness in the trial of Louis Glass, an executive with the Pacific States Telephone and Telegraph Company, from whom Boxton and 10 other supervisors had admitted taking bribes of $5,000 each. Boxton spent much of his week as a mayor shuttling between court and his official duties, and admitted – in addition to the bribery – to having lied under oath, signing a false affidavit in 1906. The College of Physicians and Surgeons would later be absorbed by the University of the Pacific in 1962, and is today known as the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry.