Theodore Lyman II (September 20, 1792 – July 18, 1849) was an American philanthropist, politician, and author, born in Boston, the son of Theodore Lyman and Lydia Pickering Williams.

He became brigadier general of militia in 1823, and from 1820 to 1825 he served in the State Legislature, In 1833 Lyman defeated William Sullivan, the Whig candidate,[1] and was elected the first Democratic Mayor of Boston.

Lyman was such a popular mayor that when he ran for reelection he was nominated by the Whigs.

[1] As Mayor of Boston, Lyman had to keep the peace between radical abolitionists, and industrialists who feared anti-slavery agitators would cause southern plantation owners to cut ties with the northern mills and merchants.

and then, a few weeks later, during an anti-Abolitionist riot, he rescued William Lloyd Garrison from the mob and confined him to jail to save his life.