Robert F. Wagner Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Wagnerc. 1970 | |
| Personal Representative of the President to the Holy See | |
| In office November 28, 1978 – January 16, 1981 | |
| President | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | David M. Walters |
| Succeeded by | William A. Wilson |
| 52ndUnited States Ambassador to Spain | |
| In office June 24, 1968 – March 7, 1969 | |
| President | Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | Angier Biddle Duke |
| Succeeded by | Robert C. Hill |
| 102ndMayor of New York City | |
| In office January 1, 1954 – December 31, 1965 | |
| Preceded by | Vincent R. Impellitteri |
| Succeeded by | John Lindsay |
| 14th President of the United States Conference of Mayors | |
| In office 1957–1958 | |
| Preceded by | John Hynes |
| Succeeded by | Norris Poulson |
| 17thBorough President ofManhattan | |
| In office January 1, 1950 – December 31, 1953 | |
| Preceded by | Hugo Rogers |
| Succeeded by | Hulan Jack |
| Member of theNew York State Assembly from the 16th New York County district | |
| In office January 1, 1938 – January 13, 1942 | |
| Preceded by | William Schwartz |
| Succeeded by | John P. Morrissey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Ferdinand Wagner II (1910-04-20)April 20, 1910 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | February 12, 1991(1991-02-12) (aged 80) New York City, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2, includingRobert III |
| Relatives | Robert F. Wagner (father) |
Robert Ferdinand Wagner II (April 20, 1910 – February 12, 1991) was an American diplomat and politician who served three terms as themayor of New York City from 1954 through 1965. When running for his third term, he broke with theTammany Hall leadership, ending the clubhouse's reign in city politics. He also served asUnited States Ambassador to Spain and in a number of other offices.
Wagner was born inYorkville,Manhattan, the son of Margaret Marie (McTague) and German-bornUnited States SenatorRobert Ferdinand Wagner. He attendedTaft School and graduated fromYale University in 1933, where he was on the business staff of campus humor magazineThe Yale Record and became a member ofScroll and Key (as wasJohn Lindsay, his successor as mayor). He attendedHarvard Business School and theGraduate School of International Studies inGeneva. He graduated fromYale Law School in 1937.[1]
Wagner was a member of theNew York State Assembly (New York Co., 16th D.) in1938,1939–40 and1941–42. He resigned his seat on January 13, 1942, and joined theArmy Air Corps to fight inWorld War II, where he served as anintelligence officer.[2] Wagner held the rank of lieutenant colonel with the19th Tactical Air Command and was awarded aBronze Star Medal.[3] After the war, he served as City Tax Commissioner, Commissioner of Housing and Buildings, and Chairman of the City Planning Commission. He wasBorough President of Manhattan from 1950 to 1953. He also served as delegate to numerous Democratic conventions, and was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1956.[2]
AlthoughNew York City ComptrollerLazarus Joseph usually sided in theNew York City Board of Estimate with MayorVincent R. Impellitteri during the latter's term in office, Joseph supported Wagner for the Democratic nomination for mayor in the 1953 primary election, calling Wagner a "sure winner."[4]
His nomination andelection as New York City mayor in 1953 caused a rift in theDemocratic Party, and instigated a long-standing feud betweenEleanor Roosevelt andCarmine DeSapio, Boss ofTammany Hall. Roosevelt was a Wagner supporter, and DeSapio offered only reluctant support to Wagner until 1961, when Wagner ran for a third term on an anti-Tammany platform, which eventually helped end DeSapio's leadership.
During Wagner's tenure as New York City's mayor, he built public housing and schools, created theCity University of New York system, established the right of collective bargaining for city employees, and barred housing discrimination based on race, creed, or color. He was the first mayor to hire significant numbers of people of color in city government. His administration also saw the development ofLincoln Center and broughtShakespeare to Central Park. In the fall of 1957 after theDodgers andGiants left New York City he appointed a commission to determine whether New York City could host another National League baseball team, eventually leading to theMets franchise being awarded to New York City.[2]
During his years in office, the city experienced the visit of a number of notables from around the world. In January 1957, President Eisenhower invited King Saud to the United States to discuss strategies for resolving the Suez crisis. Wagner refused Eisenhower's request of a ticker tape parade for the King and even refused to greet him formally, stating that the Muslim ruler was anti-Jewish and anti-Catholic, which was judged by some observers as "a crude appeal to the prejudices of the hyphenated voters."[5] He did greetQueen Elizabeth II later in 1957. He also rearranged his schedule to meet with theLittle Rock Nine and give them a tour ofNew York City Hall.[6]
In1956, Wagner ran on the Democratic and Liberal tickets forU.S. Senator from New York, but was defeated by RepublicanJacob K. Javits.[2] In 1957 and 1958, Wagner served as president of theUnited States Conference of Mayors.[7]
Like his father, Wagner was aligned with Tammany Hall for much of his career. However, when he sought a third term in 1961, Wagner broke with DeSapio and won the Democratic primary anyway, beginning the decline ofmachine politics in New York City.[2]
By the early 1960s, Wagner became concerned about the image of New York City in preparation for the1964 World's Fair and began a controversial campaign to rid New York City ofgay bars. The city revoked the bars' liquor licenses and used undercover police officers toentrap as many homosexual men as possible.[8]
In February 1962, Wagner quit theNew York Athletic Club because it barred African Americans and Jews from becoming members.[9]
The New York Preservation Archive Project described Wagner's contribution to preservation as "complex." While he savedCarnegie Hall from demolition in 1960, he was also mayor at the time of the controversial demolition of the originalPenn Station, which began on October 28, 1963. In 1965, he signed the law that created theNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.[10]
In 1965, Wagner decided not to run for a fourth term as mayor. Four years later, however, he ran for mayor again, but lost the Democratic primary. In 1973, he talked with the city's five Republican county chairmen about running for Mayor as a Republican, but these negotiations collapsed.[1]
A 1993 survey of historians, political scientists, and urban experts conducted by Melvin G. Holli of theUniversity of Illinois at Chicago ranked Wagner as the seventeenth-best American big-city mayor to have served between the years 1820 and 1993.[11]
After deciding not to run for a fourth term in 1965, Wagner served asambassador to Spain from June 1968 to March 1969. In that year, he decided to run for a fourth term but was soundly beaten byMario Procaccino in the Democratic primary. He also made a brief run four years later, but withdrew before the primary took place. In 1978 he was appointed byJimmy Carter to be his representative to theVatican, where the College of Cardinals had recently electedJohn Paul II.[2]
Wagner was a Roman Catholic.[2]
Wagner's first wife was Susan Edwards, by whom he had two sons,Robert Ferdinand Wagner III and Duncan. Susan Wagner died of lung cancer in 1964. By all accounts, the two had a very happy marriage, and although Susan was not particularly fond of politics, she enjoyed traveling with her husband and meeting many famous people. Susan was described as optimistic, cheerful, kind, and always happy. According to his friends, Mayor Wagner was "lonely and depressed" after the death of his first wife.[1]
He married Barbara Cavanagh in 1965. They divorced in 1971. Wagner marriedPhyllis Fraser, widow ofBennett Cerf, in 1975. They lived together until his death in 1991. Her five-floor townhouse at 132 East 62nd Street, designed byDenning & Fourcade, "was so magnetic that the statesman moved in."[12]
He died inManhattan of heart failure in 1991, aged 80, while he was being treated forbladder cancer.[1] His funeral mass was offered by CardinalWilliam Wakefield Baum atSt. Patrick's Cathedral, and he was buried atCalvary Cemetery inMaspeth, Queens. "Mr. Wagner was buried beside the graves of his father, United States Senator Robert F. Wagner, and mother, Margaret, and first wife, Susan Edwards Wagner, and not far from the grave of New York's Governor Al Smith."[13]
TheRobert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service atNew York University is named in his honor, as is the Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park inBattery Park City and the Robert F. Wagner Jr. Secondary School for Arts and Technology inLong Island City.
Wagner's papers, photographs, artifacts and other materials are housed at theNew York City Municipal Archives and atLa Guardia and Wagner Archives.
Robert Ferdinand Wagner, who oversaw a vivid transformation of the city's politics and even its personality in three terms as Mayor, died early yesterday at his home in Manhattan. He was 80 years old. The police and emergency medical technicians were summoned at 3:30 am to his town house on East 62d Street, where the ailing former Mayor was pronounced dead of heart failure. He had been suffering from bladder cancer.
| New York State Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New York State Assembly,New York County 16th District 1938–1942 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Borough President of Manhattan 1950–1953 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Mayor of New York City 1954–1965 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic Nominee for U.S. Senate from New York (Class 3) 1956 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Ambassador to Spain 1968–1969 | Succeeded by |
|  | |
|  | |
| Ministers Plenipotentiary to Spain (1779–1825) | |
|---|---|
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain (1825–1913) | |
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Spain (1913–present) | |
