William Butler Ogden (June 15, 1805 – August 3, 1877) was an American politician and railroad executive who served as the first Mayor of Chicago.

He assisted Charles Butler, his brother-in-law, with business matters related to opening a new building for New York University, attending the law school for a brief period himself.

[7] Shortly after moving to Chicago in 1836, Ogden joined the committee responsible for drafting the city charter to be submitted to the state legislature.

[7] As a politician he advocated for the city to raise tax revenue for new roads, plank sidewalks, and bridges (which he presented designs of his own for).

Eastern investors were wary of Chicago's reputation for irrational boosterism, and Chicagoans did not want to divert traffic from their profitable canal works.

Young Scammon solicited subscriptions from the farmers and small businessmen whose land lay adjacent to the proposed rail.

Farmer's wives used the money they earned from selling eggs to buy shares of stock on a monthly payment plan.

The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad was profitable from the start and eventually extended out to Wisconsin, bringing grain from the Great Plains into the city.

As president of Union Pacific, Ogden extended the reach of Chicago's rail lines to the West coast.

[12] Ogden designed the first swing bridge over the Chicago River[13] and donated the land for Rush Medical Center.

In 1856 this was the Chicago, St. Anthony and Fond du Lac Railroad [16] but the financial panic beginning in 1857 caused the collapse of this project.

Fortunately Ogden's long time personal reputation and character helped him get many supporters putting together resources to reorganize as the Chicago & North Western Railway the following year of which he was president from 1859 to 1868.

[17][18] While his failing health precluded as active a participation as in his earlier years, his Vice President, Perry Smith and Supt.

George L Dunlap carried over from the Fond du Lac era, kept things progressing until 1864 when a Grand Consolidation took place with the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad.

[19] This new C&NW was able to cross Iowa to the Missouri River at Council Bluffs and join with Ogden's other project, the Union Pacific Transcontinental railroad in Omaha.