{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Philip Breitmeyer | image = PhilipBreitmeyer.jpg | caption = | order = 44th | office = Mayor of Detroit, Michigan | term_start = 1909 | term_end = 1910 | predecessor = William Barlum Thompson | successor = William Barlum Thompson | birth_date = {{birth date text|May 13, 1864}} | birth_place = Detroit, Michigan | death_date = {{death date and age|November 8, 1941|May 13, 1864}} | death_place = Detroit, Michigan | constituency = | party = | alma_mater = | spouse = Katie Grass | profession = Florist | signature = | footnotes = }}
'''Philip Breitmeyer''' (May 13, 1864 – November 8, 1941) was a florist, one of the founders of Florists' Telegraph Delivery (now Florists' Transworld Delivery, or FTD), and the mayor of Detroit, Michigan.
==Biography== Philip Breitmeyer was born in Detroit on May 13, 1864, the son of John and Fredericka Schneider Breitmeyer.<ref name="gov">{{citation|title = The government of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan: 1701 to 1907, historical and biographical| year = 1907 |pages = 145–146| isbn = 9780598455529 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6vhAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA145}}</ref><ref name="burt">{{citation|title = The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922; Volume 3 |author1 = Clarence Monroe Burton| author2 = William Stocking| author3 = Gordon K. Miller |publisher = The S. J. Clarke publishing company| year = 1922 |pages = 636–637|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTTiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA636}}</ref> He was educated in the public schools of the city, and joined the family florist business, John Breitmeyer & Sons.<ref name="gov"/> He soon became president of the firm, and after his father's death bought out his brothers to become sole owner of the firm.<ref name="burt"/> The business grew rapidly, and they built a new building to house the firm, now the Breitmeyer-Tobin Building.<ref name="gov"/>
Breitmeyer was one of the organizers, and served as president, of Florists' Telegraph Delivery (now Florists' Transworld Delivery, or FTD).<ref name="burt"/> He was president of the American Society of Florists,<ref name="burt"/> president of the Michigan Cut Flower Exchange, vice-president of the German-American Bank<ref name="gov"/> director of the Lohrman Seed Company, and president of the Detroit National Fire Insurance Company.<ref name="burt"/>
In 1886, Breitmeyer married Katie Grass. The couple had three children, Philip Jr, Harry G. and Katherine.<ref name="gov"/><ref name="burt"/>
==Politics== Breitmeyer was appointed by George P. Codd as Commissioner of Parks and Boulevards for the city of Detroit,<ref name="gov"/> a position he held for two years.<ref name="burt"/> So well did he perform that he was nominated as the Republican candidate for mayor, and was elected for a term in 1909-1910.<ref name="gov"/>
Breitmeyer ran again for mayor in 1933, but was soundly defeated by James Couzens's son Frank.<ref name="bcs">{{cite news | title = In Detroit, Couzens is Big Winner | newspaper = The Border Cities Star | date = Nov 8, 1933 | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7Q4_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=YE4MAAAAIBAJ&pg=4507,1500271}}</ref> He also served for two years, 1938-1939, on the Detroit City Council.<ref name="lib">{{cite web | title = Detroit City Council, 1919 to present | publisher = Detroit Public Library | url = http://www.detroit.lib.mi.us/mrl/Council.htm | accessdate = November 6, 2010 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110928123713/http://www.detroit.lib.mi.us/mrl/Council.htm | archivedate = September 28, 2011 }}</ref>
Philip Breitmeyer died on November 8, 1941.<ref name="whos">{{citation | title = Current Biography: Who's News and Why, 1942 | author1 = Maxine Block | author2 = E. Mary Trow | publisher = Hw Wilson Co| year = 1942 | page = 105 | isbn = 0-8242-0479-4 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bLSDTRdhgKMC&q=Philip+Breitmeyer}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *{{citation | title = Detroit the Artistic: Being an Appreciation of Breitmeyer's the House of Flowers | author = Elbert Hubbard | year = 1913 | publisher = C. A. Weed & Co.}}
==External links== {{commons}}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef | before=William Barlum Thompson}} {{s-ttl | title=Mayor of Detroit | years = 1909–1910}} {{s-aft | after=William Barlum Thompson}} {{end}}
{{DetroitMayors}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breitmeyer, Philip}} Category:1864 births Category:1941 deaths Category:Detroit City Council members Category:Mayors of Detroit Category:Michigan Republicans Category:20th-century mayors of places in Michigan