This is a list of mayors, or persons holding the equivalent office, of Birmingham, Alabama. The office of mayor was established with the incorporation of Birmingham in 1871. Robert Henley was appointed by Governor, Robert B. Lindsay to a two-year term. Until 1910, the Mayor presided over an ever-expanding Board of Aldermen who generally campaigned on the same ticket. Progressive reformers lobbied for a change in the form of government that year, resulting in the creation of a five-member Board of Commissioners (later reduced to three members). The President of the Commission, though not formally holding the title, was widely acknowledged as "Mayor" under that system.