Timothy Sullivan

Timothy D. Sullivan
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
March 4, 1903 – July 27, 1906
Preceded byThomas J. Creamer
Succeeded byDaniel J. Riordan
Constituency8th district
In office
March 4, 1913 – August 31, 1913
Preceded byJefferson M. Levy
Succeeded byGeorge W. Loft
Constituency13th district
Member of the New York Senate
In office
January 1, 1894 – December 31, 1902
Preceded byThomas F. Cunningham
Succeeded byJohn C. Fitzgerald
Constituency9th district (1894–95)
11th district (1896–1902)
In office
January 1, 1909 – December 31, 1912
Preceded byWilliam Sohmer
Succeeded byJohn C. Fitzgerald
Constituency12th district
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 2nd New York County district
In office
January 1, 1887 – December 31, 1893
Preceded byThomas Maher
Succeeded byMichael J. Callahan
Personal details
Born
Timothy Daniel Sullivan

(1862-07-23)July 23, 1862
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 31, 1913(1913-08-31) (aged 51)
Bronx, New York, U.S.
Resting placeCalvary Cemetery, Queens, New York
Political partyDemocratic

Timothy Daniel Sullivan (July 23, 1862 – August 31, 1913) was a New York politician who controlled Manhattan's Bowery and Lower East Side districts as a prominent leader within Tammany Hall. He was known euphemistically as "Dry Dollar", as the "Big Feller", and later as "Big Tim" because of his physical stature. He amassed a large fortune as a businessman running vaudeville and legitimate theaters, as well as nickelodeons, race tracks, and athletic clubs.

Sullivan in 1911 pushed through the legislature the Sullivan Act, an early gun control measure. He was a strong supporter of organized labor and women's suffrage. The newspapers depicted Big Tim as the spider in the center of the web, mentioning his criminal activities and his control over gambling in the city. Welch says that "assigning the role of vice lord to Sullivan gave Tammany's enemies a weapon to be wielded in every municipal election between 1886 and 1912".[1]

  1. ^ Richard F, Welch, King of the Bowery, p. 107.