 The ceremony was held on January 1, 1912, with the appointment of American Christopher F. Bader as the first City Mayor.With the island of Basilan as part of Zamboanga, this made the City of Zamboanga the biggest city in the world in terms of land area.Two years later he was succeeded by Victoriano Tarrosas the first Filipino Zamboangueño Mayor of the city when Bader resigned.