Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. | |
|---|---|
 D'Alesandro in 1939 | |
| 41stMayor of Baltimore | |
| In office May 16, 1947 – May 16, 1959 | |
| Preceded by | Theodore McKeldin |
| Succeeded by | J. Harold Grady |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's3rd district | |
| In office January 3, 1939 – May 16, 1947 | |
| Preceded by | Vincent Palmisano |
| Succeeded by | Edward Garmatz |
| Member of theMaryland House of Delegates from theBaltimore City's 1st district | |
| In office 1926–1933 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Ludwig John D'Alesandro Jr. (1903-08-01)August 1, 1903 |
| Died | August 23, 1987(1987-08-23) (aged 84) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Annunciata Lombardi |
| Children | 6, includingThomas III,Nancy Pelosi |
Thomas Ludwig John D'Alesandro Jr. (August 1, 1903 – August 23, 1987) was an American politician who served as the 41stmayor ofBaltimore from 1947 to 1959. A member of theDemocratic Party, he previously representedMaryland's 3rd congressional district in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1939 until 1947. He was known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the D'Alesandropolitical family, which includesNancy Pelosi, the 52ndspeaker of the United States House of Representatives; andThomas D'Alesandro III, the 44th mayor of Baltimore.
D'Alesandro was born in Baltimore on August 1, 1903. He was the son of Maria Antonia Petronilla (née Foppiani) and Tommaso F. D'Alessandro. His father was born inMontenerodomo,Abruzzo, Italy, and his mother was born in Baltimore, to parents fromGenoa,Liguria, Italy.[1] D'Alesandro attendedCalvert Business College in Baltimore. Before beginning his political career, he worked as an insurance and real estate broker.[2]
D'Alesandro served as a member of theMaryland State House of Delegates from 1926 to 1933. After serving inAnnapolis, D'Alesandro was then appointed as General Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, a post in which he served during 1933–1934. He then was elected to serve on theBaltimore City Council from 1935 to 1938.[citation needed]
D'Alesandro was then elected to the76th Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1939, until he resigned on May 16, 1947. While in Congress, D'Alesandro strongly supported theBergson Group, a "political action committee set up to challenge theRoosevelt Administration's policies on theJewish refugee issue during theHolocaust, and later lobbied againstBritish control of Palestine" despite his equally strong support for Roosevelt's other policies.[3]
Following his service in Congress he was the Mayor of Baltimore for 12 years from May 1947 to May 1959.[4] D'Alesandro served on the Federal Renegotiation Board from 1961 to 1969 after being appointed by PresidentJohn F. Kennedy.[2][5] On September 21, 1966, President Lyndon Baines Johnson's assistant Mildred Stegall requested a routine FBI name check on D'Alesandro.[6] FBI records released onJanuary 6, 2021 showed D'Alesandro had been the subject of a Special Inquiry investigation in March and April 1961, revealing numerous allegations of association with criminals in Baltimore.[7]
D'Alesandro was a strong contender forGovernor of Maryland in1954, but dropped out after being implicated in receiving undeclared money from Dominic Piracci, a parking garage owner convicted of fraud, conspiracy, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.[8] Piracci was the father of Margie Piracci D'Alesandro, the wife of D'Alesandro's oldest son and namesakeThomas D'Alesandro III. Mayor D'Alesandro was later exonerated and never indicted.[citation needed]
After withdrawing, D'Alesandro tacitly supportedUniversity of Maryland PresidentCurley Byrd, who lost, 54.5% to 45.5%, toTheodore McKeldin, the Republican incumbent and D'Alesandro's predecessor as Mayor of Baltimore.
In 1958, D'Alesandro ran for theUnited States Senate in a bid to defeatRepublican incumbentJ. Glenn Beall. D'Alesandro first had to spend money and time defeating perennial candidate/contractorGeorge P. Mahoney in the Democratic primary. D'Alesandro then ran a strong campaign, losing to Beall in a close race, the first election D'Alesandro had ever lost.[4]
In 1959, D'Alesandro was defeated in a bid for another term for Mayor of Baltimore byJ. Harold Grady.[9]
In 2017, in an effort to counter D'Alesandro's daughter Nancy's efforts to remove statues of Confederate figures from the halls of Congress,conservative commentators noted that in 1948, D'Alesandro dedicated theStonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee Monument in his capacity as Mayor of Baltimore, along with the then-Governor of Maryland,William Preston Lane Jr.[10] His son,Thomas D'Alesandro III, who later served as Mayor of Baltimore from 1967 to 1971, said about his father "His whole life was politics. He was not what you would call a flamingliberal, but he was aprogressive."[4]
D'Alesandro was married to Annunciata M. ("Nancy") Lombardi (1909–1995).[11] Together, the couple had six children, five sons and a daughter:
D'Alesandro did not speak Italian but spokeYiddish.[14]
Two months after being present at Nancy's swearing in as a congresswoman, D'Alesandro died on August 23, 1987, in Baltimore, Maryland.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's 3rd congressional district 1939–1947 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Mayor of Baltimore 1947–1959 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromMaryland (Class 1) 1958 | Succeeded by |
| |||||
| Speakership |
|   | |||
| Elections |
| ||||
| Books |
| ||||
| Family |
| ||||
| Related | |||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
