Herbert H. Lehman

Herbert Henry Lehman (March 28, 1878 ? December 5, 1963) was a Governor and Senator from New York.

Related Topics:
March 28 - 1878 - December 5 - 1963 - Governor - Senator - New York

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lehman was born in New York City in 1878. He attended what is now The Dwight School. A graduate of Williams College (Class of 1899), he helped found the investment bank Lehman Brothers with his brother, Arthur, in 1908. Lehman married Edith Louise Altschul in 1910.

Related Topics:
New York City - Dwight School - Williams College - 1899 - Investment bank - Lehman Brothers - 1908 - 1910

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He became a colonel in the U.S. Army during World War I. Lehman was the director of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation Operations for the State Department in 1943. He served as Director-General of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration from 1943 to 1946.

Related Topics:
U.S. Army - World War I - United Nations - 1943 - 1946

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lehman became active in politics in 1920, and became chairman of the finance committee of the Democratic Party in 1928, as a reward for being a strong supporter of Alfred E. Smith. He became the lieutenant governor of New York in 1929, then served as the Governor of New York between 1933 and 1942, serving four terms. Unlike Smith, Lehman was a supporter of FDR's New Deal policies and implement a program in the same spirit in New York. He resigned in the final year of his last term and took up posts connected with refugee aid and relief in the State Department and later the ]. Lehman was the Democratic Nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1946 and also ran on the Liberal Party and American Labor Party tickets, but he was defeated by the Republican candidate Irving Ives in what was a very good year for GOP candidates. Afterwards, he was a Senator from New York from 1949 - 1957. Lehman filled most of the remainder of Robert F. Wagner's term after Wagner resigned following a special election in which he (HHL) beat John Foster Dulles (who had been appointed to temporarily fill the seat), before winning a full term of his own in 1950. He was not a candidate for renomination or reelection in 1956.

Related Topics:
Democratic Party - 1928 - Alfred E. Smith - Lieutenant governor - New York - 1929 - Governor of New York - 1933 - 1942 - New Deal - State Department - Liberal Party - American Labor Party - Irving Ives - 1949 - 1957 - Robert F. Wagner - John Foster Dulles - 1950

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was the first (and surprisingly, given the significant community in the state, still the only) Jewish Governor of New York. During much of his Senate career, he was the only Jew in the Senate as well. Unlike most of his Jewish constituents, who came from Eastern Europe, Lehman's family was from Germany,

Related Topics:
Jew - New York - Senate

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Herbert H. Lehman passed away in 1963 and was interred in the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York. That year, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.

Related Topics:
Kensico Cemetery - Valhalla, New York - Presidential Medal of Freedom

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A ship on the Staten Island Ferry is dedicated to him. College dormitories are named in his honor at Williams College and the University at Buffalo.

Related Topics:
Staten Island Ferry - Williams College - University at Buffalo

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~