Bernard J. Dowd was Mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of the City of Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

, serving 1946–1949. He was born in Buffalo's First Ward on December 5, 1891. He graduated from high school around 1915 and entered the University of Buffalo School of Pharmacy

University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...

. He entered World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 in May 1918 as a sergeant in Company G, 309th Infantry, 78 Division. He was gassed in the Battle of St. Mihiel and reported dead. In May 1919, Dowd returned to Buffalo honorably discharged from the service. He graduated from pharmacy school and opened Dowd's Pharmacy located after 1940 at 110 Potomac Avenue, at the corner of DeWitt Street. He married Grace J. Nolan on October 22, 1922.

He was elected mayor on November 6, 1945, as the Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 candidate. On May 9, 1946, Mayor Dowd was in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 where he met President Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

 and accepted the National Safety Council

National Safety Council

The National Safety Council is a 501 nonprofit, nongovernmental public service organization dedicated to protecting life and promoting health. Headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, NSC is a member organization, founded in 1913 and granted a congressional charter in 1953...

award for "safest large city in 1945." After his term ended, he worked as a pharmacist. He was defeated in the 1951 Republican primary for Common Council President. He died on November 1, 1971 in Veteran's Hospital after a long illness.