Accountant, banker, merchant, realtor, he is best known as a Republican politician. He was Mayor of Providence for eighteen years. He died in office during his third term. After his father died when he was young, Thomas went to work at age fourteen, in a counting house. He grew to cashier, broker, agent. He began his political career at age twenty-one, elected ward clerk. He is regarded a great mayor, growing Providence from a village to a city. Individualistic, straightforward, opinionated, he alienated many and his relationships could be stormy. But honest, respected, and corruption free, he did things like introducing a uniformed police department that became the model for many soon after. During his tenure, Providence doubled in population and wealth. A statue of him stands at Chestnut and Broad Street.∼During his lifetime, Thomas Doyle supported himself in various professions, including accounting, banking, mercantile affairs, and real estate. He is best remembered, however, for his public life as a self-styled Republican politician. He was mayor of Providence for a total of eighteen years from 1864 to 1886, second only to Mayor "Buddy" Cianci in tenure. Cianci has been compared to Doyle in a number of other ways as both brought about major and contentious changes in the City, and both were extremely popular while being severely criticized by the local press. During Doyle's administration, the City more than doubled in population and wealth. He undertook its first and largest water and sewer system construction project. He also held offices in both the city council and the school committee for eighteen years. His sister, Sarah Doyle (BP 110, 272), a well-known educator and advocate for women's education, was one of the founders of Brown's Women's College in 1897.