
David Rowland Francis (1 October 1850-15 January 1927) was the Democratic Mayor of St. Louis from 14 April 1885 to 2 January 1889 (succeeding William L. Ewing and preceding Edward A. Noonan), Governor of Missouri from 14 January 1889 to 9 January 1893 (succeeding Albert P. Morehouse and preceding William J. Stone), United States Secretary of the Interior from 3 September 1896 to 5 March 1897 (succeeding Hoke Smith and preceding Cornelius Bliss), and Ambassador to Russia from 5 May 1916 to 7 November 1917 (succeeding George Marye and preceding William Christian Bullitt Jr.).
Biography[]
David Rowland Francis was born in Richmond, Kentucky in 1850, and he became president of a grain merchant's exchange in St. Louis, Missouri before serving as Mayor from 1885 to 1889. In 1888, Francis was elected Governor, serving until 1889, and he served as Interior Minister from 1896 to 1897. In 1904, he promoted the World's Fair and the Summer Olympics in St. Louis, promoting entertainment, consumer goods, and popular culture. Francis, a Wilsonian Democrat, served as the last US Ambassador to the Russian Empire from 1916 to 1917. He died in St. Louis in 1927.