Robert Walter Speer (December 1, 1855 – May 14, 1918) was elected mayor of Denver, Colorado three times. He served two four-year terms in office from 1904 to 1912. He died from Influenza, early on in the worldwide epidemic of that year on May 14, 1918, while halfway through a third term in office that had started in 1916.^[1]

Speer was born in Mount Union, Pennsylvania, on December 1, 1855. He married Kate Thrush, his childhood sweetheart, in 1882.^[2]

As an adherent of the City Beautiful movement, Speer initiated several projects that added new landmarks, updated existing facilities, and signed Speer Amendment for non-political administration, and dropped his Democrat affiliation in 1916 When elected to third term; improved the city's landscape including:

• City Auditorium, site of the 1908 Democratic National Convention
• The Civic Center
• Denver Mountain Parks
• The Denver Zoo expansion from 1906 to 1918.
• Denver Museum of Nature and Science
• The paving and graveling of many of the city's remaining dirt streets
• An urban forestry program that eventually distributed 110,000 free shade trees to city residents^[3][4]

Speer was the first mayor of Denver to die while serving in office. Speer Boulevard in Denver is named in his honor.^[5] He is buried in Fairmount Cemetery in Denver.