Robert F. Wagner junior
Robert Ferdinand Wagner Jr. (born April 20, 1910 in New York City , † February 12, 1991 ibid) was an American politician , lawyer and diplomat . He was Mayor of New York City from 1954 to 1965.
Origin and education
Robert F. Wagner was born as the son of the German immigrant Robert F. Wagner and Margaret Mary McTague in Yorkville , a district of Manhattan . Wagner senior (1877–1953) was in turn one of the most important lawyers and politicians in New York City and was elected to the US Senate in 1925. After his mother's death in 1919, the young Robert was raised mainly by his father, whose house an important meeting place for New York's New Deal - Democrats was.
Robert Wagner Jr. attended by Jesuits led Loyola School at Park Avenue and Taft School in Watertown ( Connecticut ). He graduated from Yale with a bachelor's degree in 1933 and later studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and the School of International Studies in Geneva . He completed his law degree at Yale in 1937 and was elected to the New York State Assembly that same year , of which he was a member from 1938 to 1942.
During the Second World War he served in the reconnaissance division of the Air Corps . He resigned from military service as a lieutenant colonel and received the Bronze Star and the French Croix de guerre for his services .
Political career
With the active support of his father, he quickly made a political career after the Second World War. He served as Tax Commissioner under Mayor William O'Dwyer and later as Commissioner of Housing and Buildings and Chairman of the City Planning Commission . In 1949 he was elected District Mayor ( Borough President ) of Manhattan.
In November 1953, with the help of Tammany Hall , the corrupt party machine of the Democrats in New York, he was elected 102nd Mayor of New York as the successor to his intra-party rival Vincent R. Impellitteri . In 1961, however, he broke with Tammany Hall and permanently destroyed the influence of the Democratic party bosses on local politics. After the death of his first wife in 1964, Wagner decided not to run again in 1965 and was replaced by John Lindsay . In 1969 and 1973 he ran again for the office of mayor, but was already defeated in the primary elections. His attempts to join the US Senate in his father's footsteps in 1952 and 1956 were just as unsuccessful.
Against the background of the turbulent tenure of his successor Lindsay, the reign of Robert Wagner was considered a golden age. Under his administration, numerous major projects such as the Van Wyck Expressway , Grand Central Parkway , Long Island Expressway , Verrazano-Narrows and Throgs Neck Bridges , Shea Stadium, and Lincoln Center were completed, and in 1964 the city hosted the World's Fair . Wagner also had slums in the city cleared and social housing built. As the first mayor, he increasingly appointed minorities to the city government and administration and fought corruption.
However, many of the problems that subsequently plagued the city began under his tenure, such as: B. the increased influx of Puerto Ricans and blacks from the southern states , whose insufficient integration and precarious economic situation were to contribute to the racial unrest of later years. The city's budget was also expanded considerably during his tenure and the budget was dependent on ever larger grants from New York State. This was to lead to an existential financial crisis in the 1970s.
Later career
After retiring as mayor, Wagner returned to New York City as a lawyer. In 1968 he was named ambassador to Spain by President Lyndon B. Johnson , whom he had supported in the 1964 presidential election , a post from which he resigned after Richard Nixon took office . 1978 President appointed him Jimmy Carter to unofficial representatives of the United States at the Vatican , where he remained until the 1,981th Wagner also supported the political career of his eldest son, who was also named Robert F. Wagner after him and his father. He became Deputy Mayor of New York under Ed Koch .
Wagner was married three times. His first wife, Susan, née Edwards, died of cancer in 1964. He divorced his second wife, Barbara Jean Cavanagh, in 1971. In 1975 he married Phyllis Fraser Cerf, who survived him. In addition to Robert jr. Wagner had a second son, Duncan, with his first wife.
The New York University School of Public Service was named in his honor in 1989 .
Wagner died of heart failure on February 12, 1991 after suffering from bladder cancer for a long time.
Web links
- Robert F. Wagner in the Notable Names Database (English)
- James F. Clarity: Robert Wagner, 80, Pivotal New York Mayor, Dies , New York Times , February 13, 1991. (English)
- List of New York City Mayors since 1898 , (English)
Individual evidence
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Hugo Rogers | Borough President of Manhattan 1950–1953 |
Hulan Jack |
| Vincent R. Impellitteri |
Mayor of New York City 1954–1965 |
John Lindsay |
| Frank E. McKinney |
United States Ambassador to Spain 1968–1969 |
Robert C. Hill |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wagner, Robert F. junior |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wagner, Robert Ferdinand junior |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American politician, lawyer, and diplomat |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 20, 1910 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City , New York, United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 12, 1991 |
| Place of death | New York City , New York, United States |