Rudolph Blankenburg (February 16, 1843 – April 12, 1918) was an American businessman and manufacturer, who became a politician and elected mayor of Philadelphia, leading a reform administration from 1911 to 1916. Biography Blankenburg was born in Barntrup, Lippe, Germany. From age 7 to 14, he was tutored by Carl Becker, a graduate of the Free University of Berlin. He showed an aptitude for languages, and became proficient in English and French, in addition to German. At the age of fourteen he left home to spend three years studying at the Real Gymnasium at Lippstadt. In 1865, Blankenburg followed Becker to America. He began working as a salesman and then became a textile manufacturer. He also began associating with the Society of Friends. He became wealthy and retired from his business concerns in 1909. Blankenburg became a naturalized U.S. citizen. On April 18, 1867, Blankenburg married Lucretia Longshore (8 May 1845 – 29 March 1937), a Quaker suffragist, social activist, civic reformer, and writer. Longshore was the daughter of pioneering physician Hannah E. Longshore, who died on October 19, 1901, at the Blankenburgs' home at 214 Logan Square. The street on which that address was located, West Logan Square, ceased to exist when Logan Square was extended westward in the creation of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. He began taking an interest in civic improvement and reform politics in Philadelphia in 1877. He was elected county commissioner for Philadelphia in 1905, serving 1906–1909. He was then elected mayor of Philadelphia in 1911 on the Keystone-Democratic ticket; the coalition was organized to fight Republican corruption in the state and city. He served as mayor from December 1911 to January 1916. Because of his commitment to progressive reform, he was known as "The Old War Horse of Reform" and "The Old Dutch Cleanser" (a play on a cleaning product brand). He ended assessments by ward leaders of policemen, reorganized the civil service system to have it based on merit, gained passage by the legislature of a bill to enable the city to lease development of subway and transit lines, and worked for reform for 40 years as a political activist. In earlier years he was a worldwide traveler. He also became known by his numerous magazine and newspaper articles on social, economic and religious questions. Blankenburg died in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. In accordance with his wishes, his body was cremated and