Richard J. Daley was the mayor of Chicago from 1955 to his death in 1976. He was a Democrat, and the leader of the Democratic political machine. He was very influential among Democrats at the time, including presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. He was also a huge supporter of Adlai Stevenson. He also led the catastrophic 1968 Democratic political convention, which was marked by riots, violence, police brutality and anger.