Frederick Lincoln Jr. is elected mayor of Boston.

Lincoln (Faneuil Hall and Citizens Party), with 8,110 votes, defeats Charles Hall, with 4,193, and others to win the first of his seven terms as mayor. He lives at 64 Pinckney Street. A distant relative of the future president, he is inaugurated on January 4, 1858 (5), 1858, Lincoln goes on to serves a record seven terms as mayor. In his first three terms, he is known for visiting saloons and gambling houses in disguise to check for law-breaking. He is subsequently an ardent supporter of the Union cause and promotes enlistment in the Union Army by Boston residents.