Robert F. Wagner

Robert F. Wagner
Harris & Ewing photo, Library of Congress
United States Senator
from New York
In office
March 4, 1927 – June 28, 1949
Preceded byJames W. Wadsworth Jr.
Succeeded byJohn Foster Dulles
Acting Lieutenant Governor of New York
In office
October 17, 1913 – December 31, 1914
GovernorMartin H. Glynn
Preceded byMartin H. Glynn
Succeeded byEdward Schoeneck
Member of the New York Senate
from the 16th district
In office
January 1, 1909 – December 31, 1918
Preceded byJohn T. McCall
Succeeded byJames A. Foley
Member of the
New York State Assembly
In office
January 1, 1905 – December 31, 1905
Preceded byGotthardt A. Litthauer
Succeeded byMaurice F. Smith
Constituency30th New York district
In office
January 1, 1907 – December 31, 1908
Preceded byThomas Rock
Succeeded byGeorge W. Baumann
Constituency22nd New York district
Personal details
Born
Robert Ferdinand Wagner

(1877-06-08)June 8, 1877
Nastätten, Hesse-Nassau, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
DiedMay 4, 1953(1953-05-04) (aged 75)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Margaret Marie McTague
(m. 1908; died 1919)
ChildrenRobert Ferdinand Wagner II
Alma mater
ProfessionLawyer
[1][2]

Robert Ferdinand Wagner I (June 8, 1877 – May 4, 1953) was an American attorney and Democratic Party politician who represented the state of New York in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1949.

Born in Prussia, Wagner immigrated to the United States with his family in 1885. After graduating from New York Law School, Wagner won election to the New York State Legislature, eventually becoming the Democratic leader of the New York State Senate. Working closely with fellow New York City Democrat Al Smith, Wagner and Smith embraced reform, especially to the benefit of their core constituency, the working class. They built a coalition for these reforms that embraced unions, social workers, some businessmen, and numerous middle-class activists and civic reform organizations across the state.[3] Wagner left the state senate in 1918, and served as a justice of the New York Supreme Court until his election to the U.S. Senate in 1926.

As a Senator, Wagner was a leader of the New Deal Coalition, putting special emphasis on supporting the labor movement. He was a close associate and strong supporter of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He sponsored three major laws: the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (also known as the Wagner Act), the Social Security Act of 1935, and the Housing Act of 1937.[4] Wagner resigned from the Senate in 1949 due to ill health, and died in 1953. His son, Robert F. Wagner Jr., was mayor of New York City from 1954 through 1965.

  1. ^ "Robert Ferdinand Wagner". Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1977. GALE|BT2310001400. Retrieved February 26, 2012 – via Fairfax County Public Library. Gale Biography In Context. (subscription required)
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference NNDB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Robert A. Slayton, Empire statesman: The rise and redemption of Al Smith (2001) ch 6-11
  4. ^ J. Joseph. Huthmacher, "Senator Robert F. Wagner and the rise of urban liberalism." American Jewish Historical Quarterly (1969): 330-346. in JSTOR