Charles Edison | |
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 Edison in 1945 | |
| 42ndGovernor of New Jersey | |
| In office January 21, 1941 – January 18, 1944 | |
| Preceded by | A. Harry Moore |
| Succeeded by | Walter Evans Edge |
| 46thUnited States Secretary of the Navy | |
| In office January 2, 1940 – June 24, 1940 Acting: July 7, 1939 – January 2, 1940 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Claude A. Swanson |
| Succeeded by | Frank Knox |
| 18thAssistant Secretary of the Navy | |
| In office January 18, 1937 – January 1, 1940 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Henry L. Roosevelt |
| Succeeded by | Lewis Compton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1890-08-03)August 3, 1890 West Orange, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | July 31, 1969(1969-07-31) (aged 78) New York City, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican (before 1940) Democratic (1940–1962) Conservative (1962–1969) |
| Spouse | |
| Parent(s) | Thomas Edison (father) Mina Miller Edison (mother) |
| Signature |  |
Charles Edison (August 3, 1890 – July 31, 1969) was an American politician. He was the Assistant and thenUnited States Secretary of the Navy, and served as the 42ndgovernor of New Jersey. Commonly known as "Lord Edison", he was a son of the inventorThomas Edison andMina Miller Edison.
Edison was an associate of theJohn Birch Society, serving as a member of its editorial advisory committee for its publication,American Opinion.[1]
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Charles Edison was born on August 3, 1890, at Glenmont, the Edison family home inWest Orange, New Jersey. He was Thomas Edison's fifth child and second from his marriage toMina Miller. He graduated from theHotchkiss School in 1909.[2]
In 1915–1916, he operated the 100-seat Little Thimble Theater withGuido Bruno at 10Fifth Avenue inNew York City. The theater staged the works ofGeorge Bernard Shaw andAugust Strindberg, and Charles contributed verse toBruno's Weekly under the pseudonym Tom Sleeper. Late in 1915, he brought his players toEllis Island to perform for Chief Clerk Augustus Sherman and more than four hundred detained immigrants.
These avant-garde activities came to a halt when his father put him to work. For a number of years,[when?] Charles Edison ranEdison Records. Charles became president of his father's companyThomas A. Edison, Inc. in 1927, and ran it until it was sold in 1957, when it merged with theMcGraw Electric Company to form theMcGraw-Edison Electric Company. Edison was board chairman of the merged company until he retired in 1961.[3]
On January 18, 1937,President Roosevelt appointed Charles Edison asAssistant Secretary of the Navy, then as Secretary on January 2, 1940,Claude A. Swanson having died several months previously.[4]
Edison only kept the job until June 24, when he resigned to run forGovernor of New Jersey. During his time in the Navy department, he advocated construction of the largeIowa-classbattleships, and that one of them be built at thePhiladelphia Navy Yard, which secured votes for Roosevelt inPennsylvania andNew Jersey in the1940 presidential election; in return, Roosevelt had BB-62 named theUSS New Jersey.[5]
In 1940, he won election as the 42ndGovernor of New Jersey, running in reaction to thepolitical machine run byFrank Hague, but broke with family tradition by declaring himself aDemocrat. As governor, he proposed updating theNew Jersey State Constitution. Although it failed in areferendum and nothing was changed during his tenure, state legislators did reform the constitution later.[3]
Between 1951 and 1969, he lived in theWaldorf-Astoria Hotel, where he struck up a friendship withHerbert Hoover, who also lived there.[6] In 1962, Edison was one of the founders of theConservative Party of New York State.[7]
In 1967, Edison hosted a meeting at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, which led to the founding of the Charles Edison Youth Fund, later the Charles Edison Memorial Youth Fund. Attending the meeting were Rep.Walter Judd (R-MN), authorWilliam F. Buckley Jr., organizerDavid R. Jones, and Edison's political advisorMarvin Liebman. The name of the organization was changed in 1985 toThe Fund for American Studies,[8] in keeping with Edison's request to drop his name after 20 years of use.
Edison married Carolyn Hawkins on March 27, 1918. They had no children.
In 1924, Edison joined the New Jersey Society of theSons of the American Revolution. He was assigned national member number 39,292 and state society number 2,894.[9]
In 1948, he established a charitable foundation, originally called "The Brook Foundation", now the Charles Edison Fund.[10]
Charles Edison died on July 31, 1969, inNew York City, three days shy of his 79th birthday.[11] He is buried inRosedale Cemetery inOrange, New Jersey.
Charles Edison, former Governor of New Jersey, ... Mr. Edison, who had been admitted to the hospital on Wednesday, was 78 years ...
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| Preceded by | Assistant Secretary of the Navy 1937–1940 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of the Navy 1939–1940 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Democratic nominee for Governor of New Jersey 1940 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of New Jersey 1941–1944 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | President of theNational Municipal League 1946–1950 | Succeeded by |
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* UnderN.J.S.A. 52:15-5 (as amended in 2005), an acting governor serving for 180 continuous days or more is conferred the title of Governor. | ||
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