Thomas J. Curran

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For other persons named Thomas Curran, see Thomas Curran (disambiguation).

Thomas Jerome Curran (b. ca. 1899 Manhattan, New York City) was an American lawyer and politician.

[edit] Life

He served in the U.S. Army during World War I. After the war, he studied law, and graduated from Fordham University School of Law.

He was Secretary of State of New York from 1943 to 1955, appointed by Governor Thomas E. Dewey. As host of the state’s 1944 meeting of presidential electors, he supported the elimination of the Electoral College. In his speech before the Democratic electors, he asserted that this would likely be the last such gathering, since so many Americans regarded the procedure as outmoded.

He was Chairman of the New York County Republican Party in 1942. He was a delegate to the 1944, 1948 and 1956 Republican National Conventions, and an alternate delegate to the 1952 Republican National Convention. He was a member of the New York Republican State Executive Committee in 1945.

His son Paul J. Curran was a member of the New York State Assembly and U.S. District Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1973 to 1975.

[edit] Sources

[1] Political Graveyard (giving wrong ending year of secretaryship)
[2] His granddaughter's engagement, in NYT on December 8, 1985
[3] Presentation of the candidate for the Senate, in TIME Magazine on August 21, 1944
[4] His view on the electoral college, at NYSED archives

Preceded by Michael F. Walsh	Secretary of State of New York 1943 - 1955	Succeeded by Carmine DeSapio

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