William Donald Schaefer (November 2, 1921 – April 18, 2011) was an American politician who served in public office for 50 years at both the state and local level in Maryland. As a Democrat, he was the 45th mayor of Baltimore from December 1971 to January 1987, the 58th Governor of Maryland from January 21, 1987, to January 18, 1995, and the 32nd Comptroller of Maryland from January 20, 1999, to January 17, 2007. On September 12, 2006, he was defeated in his reelection bid for a third term as Comptroller by Maryland Delegate Peter Franchot in the Democratic Party primary. Early life and career Schaefer was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the only child of Tululu Irene (née Skipper) and William Henry Schaefer, on November 2, 1921. His parents were Baptist, and he was of part German ancestry. He spent his childhood at 620 Edgewood Street in the old West Baltimore community off Edmondson Avenue, near Hilton Street and Parkway by Gwynns Falls-Leakin Park. He received early education in Baltimore's city public schools, and later graduated from The Baltimore City College (a public high school) in its centennial class of 1939. Schaefer received an LL.B. from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1942 and an LL.M. in 1954. Schaefer was a member of the Order of DeMolay in Baltimore as a youth, later inducted into the DeMolay International Hall of Fame. He was also a Freemason and a member of the "Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Maryland". He was a member of "Mystic Circle Lodge No. 104" when he first ran for public office. During his childhood and much of his adulthood, Schaefer was a member of Cummins Memorial Church in the Reformed Episcopal Church, serving as a vestryman and treasurer. When the United States entered World War II on Monday, December 8, 1941, Schaefer joined the United States Army and later achieved officer rank, taking charge of administering hospitals in England and the rest of western Europe. He continued to remain in the U.S. Army Reserves during his academic, legal and political/public service careers until 1979, when he retired with the rank of colonel. Schaefer resumed his legal career afterwards, practicing real estate law. He had earned his Master of Law degree in 1954 from the University of Baltimore School of Law and formed a general practice law firm with