Erastus Corning 2nd

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Erastus Corning 2nd
72nd Mayor of Albany, New York
In office 1941 – 1983
Preceded by	John Boyd Thacher II
Succeeded by	Thomas Michael Whalen III
Born	October 7, 1909 Albany, New York
Died	May 28, 1983 (aged 73) Boston, Massachusetts
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic Party
Alma mater	Yale University
Profession	Insurance broker

Erastus Corning 2nd (October 7, 1909 - May 28, 1983) was a mayor of Albany, New York. He served for more than 40 years between 1942 and 1983, when Albany County was controlled by one of the last two classic urban political machines in the U.S. Albany's longest serving mayor, the Democrat died in office in 1983. His great-grandfather, Erastus Corning, was an industrialist who founded of the New York Central Railroad and served as Albany's mayor from 1834 to 1837. His father Edwin was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1927 to 1928.

Contents 1 Name 2 Biography 3 Legacy 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Name

Corning referred to himself as Erastus Corning 2nd, preferring that moniker to Erastus Corning II.

[edit] Biography

Corning was educated at The Albany Academy and Groton School before attending Yale University. He was a member of Wolf's Head Society at Yale. After earning his college degree, Corning started an insurance company and soon entered politics with his election to the New York State Assembly in 1935. He was elected to the New York State Senate in 1937.

Corning won the first of his 11 terms as mayor in 1941 — easily defeating the Republican candidate, Benjamin R. Hoff, by nearly 46,000 votes. Corning would be re-elected in landslides for the rest of his career. The most notable exception was 1973 when a prominent businessman and reform candidate, Carl Touhey, ran a well-financed campaign and came within 3,200 votes of defeating the mayor.

Touhey's campaign was not the first major challenge to Corning's administration. Shortly after his first term began, newly elected New York Governor Thomas Dewey had the powerful Albany Democratic political machine, run by "Boss" Daniel P. O'Connell, investigated. The investigations proved largely unsuccessful and left Corning and O'Connell unscathed. This political machine proved to be one of the most durable in American history, even outlasting the Daley family machine in Chicago.

During Governor Dewey's investigation, Corning was drafted into the United States Army and served as a private in World War II; he did not seek to use his official status to avoid service nor to get any favorable treatment. During his absence, Frank Harris, a councilman, served as acting mayor, appointed to this post by Corning.

Corning served ten full consecutive terms after his return from the war. His insurance firm profited from being the sole bidder on Albany County insurance contracts for many years. Corning defended this apparent conflict of interest by noting that he himself was not a county official.

His last mayoral re-election came in 1981. During his last term he began to show health problems and, on May 28, 1983, he died of heart failure at University Hospital in Boston. He is interred in Albany Rural Cemetery.

[edit] Legacy

He is said to have been the longest serving mayor of a major American city.

The Erastus Corning Tower, the tallest building in Albany and the tallest in the state outside New York City, is named for him, as is the "Corning Preserve", a nature trail and fishing site on the western banks of the Hudson River in Albany. The tower is part of the Empire State Plaza, a 98-acre, 11-building state government office and cultural complex. Some believe that the building was named after Corning because it has 42 floors (which is the same as the number of years he served as mayor), but the building actually has 44 floors with an observation deck on Floor 42. Completed in 1973, the skyscraper was dedicated to Corning upon his death in 1983.

[edit] References

• Biography of Erastus Corning 2nd at Albany County Hall of Records

[edit] External links

• Excerpt from Mayor Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma by Paul Grondahl
• Another excerpt from Mayor Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma

Preceded by ?	New York State Assembly, Albany County 1st District 1936	Succeeded by ?
Preceded by William T. Byrne	New York State Senate, 30th District 1937–1941	Succeeded by Julian Erway
Preceded by Herman F. Hoogkamp	Mayor of Albany, New York 1941– 1944	Succeeded by Frank Salisbury Harris
Preceded by Frank Salisbury Harris	Mayor of Albany, New York 1945 – 1983	Succeeded by Thomas Michael Whalen III