William Alexander Leidesdorff was born in 1810, and by age 35, he became the first African American U.S. Vice Consul to Mexico in 1845. That was not all Leidesdorff achieved; he was elected into San Diego’s first city council and was a part of the first school board in 1847. Unexpectedly, Leidesdorff passed away a year later and was given an honored burial in Mission Dolores Church.