List of mayors of Durham, North Carolina

The Mayor of Durham is the chief executive of the government of the city of Durham, North Carolina. The current mayor is Leonardo Williams, who assumed office in 2023.

The first mayor of Durham was tobacco merchant J. W. Cheek who was elected in 1869, although the position was originally known as "magistrate of police" up until 1871, when the title was changed to "mayor" during the tenure of W. J. H. Durham.^[1] Mayoral elections were held yearly until 1895, when they were changed to be held every other year.

#	Name	Term in office	Length of Service		Previous office
1	J. W. Cheek	August 1869 – May 1, 1871	~1 year, 260 days
2	W. J. H. Durham	May 1, 1871 – September 18, 1871	141 days
Acting	R. F. Morris	September 18, 1871 – May 16, 1872	242 days
3	E. J. Parrish	May 16, 1872 – May 6, 1873	355 days
Acting	Julian Carr (1845 – 1924; aged 78)	May 6, 1873 – May 17, 1873	11 days
4	W. J. H. Durham	1873 – 1877	4 years		Mayor of Durham, North Carolina (1871)
5	Doctor Claiborn Parrish (1807 – 1883; aged 76)	1877 – 1880	3 years
6	Isaac Newton Link (Unknown – 1895)	1880 – 1881	1 year
7	Doctor Claiborn Parrish (1807 – 1883; aged 76)	1881 – 1882	1 year		Mayor of Durham, North Carolina (1877–1880)
8	Edward Carney Hackney (1856 – 1903; aged 46)	May 2, 1882 – May 8, 1883	1 year, 6 days
9	Doctor Claiborn Parrish (1807 – 1883; aged 76)	May 8, 1883 – July 1883 (Died in office)	~ 2 months		Mayor of Durham, North Carolina (1881–1882)
Acting	W. T. Lipscomb	August 7, 1883 – May 6, 1884	273 days
10	J. F. Freeland	May 6, 1884 – May 8, 1888	4 years, 2 days
11	W. J. Christian	May 8, 1888 – May 6, 1890	1 year, 363 days
12	M. A. Angier	May 6, 1890 – May 3, 1893	2 years, 363 days
13	T. L. Peay	May 3, 1893 – May 8, 1894	1 years, 5 days
14	Isaac Newton Link (Unknown – 1895)	May 8, 1894 – January 5, 1895 (Died in office)	242 days		Mayor of Durham, North Carolina (1880–1881)
Acting	J. W. Carlton	January 5, 1895 – May 7, 1895	122 days
15	T. L Peay	May 7, 1895 – May 1897	2 years		Mayor of Durham, North Carolina (1893–1894)
16	Moses Ellis McCown (1849 – 1925; aged 75)	unknown – 1903
17	J. F. Freeland	1903 – 1905	2 years		Mayor of Durham, North Carolina (1884–1888)
18	Paul Cameron Graham	1905 – 1909	4 years
19	W. J. Griswold	1909 – 1911	2 years		Durham City Council (1905 – 1907)
20	Willis J. Brogden	1911 – 1915	4 years
21	Benjamin S. Skinner	1915 – 1917	2 years		Durham City Council (1913 – 1915)
22	M. E. Newsom	1917 – 1921	4 years		Durham City Council (1913 – 1917)
23	John Moore Manning (1857 – 1933; aged ~76)	1921 – 1931	10 years		Durham City Council (1919 – 1921)
24	Delos Sorrell	1931 – 1933	2 years
25	William Frederick Carr (1881 – 1956; aged 75)	1933 – 1949	16 years		Durham City Council (1917 – 1933)
26	Dan Edwards (1914 – 2001; aged 87)	1949 – 1951	2 years		North Carolina Representative from Durham County (1947–1949)
27	Emanuel J. Evans (1907 – 1997; aged 89)	1951 – 1963	12 years	Democratic
28	Wense Grabarek (1919 – 2019; aged 100)	1963 – 1971	8 years	Democratic	Durham City Council (1957–1961)
29	James Hawkins (1925 – 2010; aged 85)	1971 – 1975	4 years		Durham City Council (1959–1967)
30	Wade Cavin (1916 – 1997; aged 81)	1975 – 1979	4 years		Durham City Council (1969–1975)
31	Harry E. Rodenhizer, Jr (1927 – 2007; aged 80)	1979 – 1981	2 years	Republican	Durham Public School Board
32	Charles Markham (1938 – 2010; aged 83)	1981 – 1985	4 years
33	Wib Gulley (born 1948; aged 73)	1985 – 1989	4 years	Democratic	Durham Board of Adjustment (1983–1985)
34	Chester L. Jenkins (c. 1938 – 2009; aged ~71)	1989 – 1991	2 years	Democratic	Durham City Council (1981–1989)
35	Harry E. Rodenhizer, Jr (1927 – 2007; aged 80)	1991 – 1993	2 years	Republican	Mayor of Durham, North Carolina (1979–1981)
36	Sylvia Kerckhoff (born 1926; aged 95)	1993 – 1997	4 years		Durham City Council
37	Nick Tennyson (born 1950; aged 71)	1997 – 2001	4 years	Republican
38	Bill Bell (born in 1941; aged 80)	2001 – December 5, 2017^[2]	16 years	Democratic	Durham County Board of Commissioners (1996–2000)^[3]
39	Steve Schewel (born in 1951; aged 70)^[4]	December 5, 2017^[2] – December 6, 2021	4 years	Democratic^[5]	Durham City Council (2011–2017)^[4]
40	Elaine O'Neal	December 6, 2021 – December 4, 2023	2 Years	Democratic	North Carolina Superior Court (2011-2018)
41	Leonardo Williams	December 4, 2023		Democratic	Durham City Council (2021-2023)