On May 17, 1848, William Alexander Leidesdorff, one of the first prominent Black entrepreneurs and diplomats in early California history, died at the age of 38 in San Francisco. Of Afro-Caribbean and Danish descent, Leidesdorff was a pioneering figure in the development of San Francisco as a major port and was appointed U.S. Vice Consul to Mexico for California under President James K. Polk. At the time of his death, he was one of the wealthiest men in California.
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