William T. Conklin

William T. Conklin (April 28, 1908 – February 15, 1990) was an American politician from New York.

Life

He was born on April 28, 1908,^[1] in Brooklyn, New York City. He married Jessie F. Hanrahan (died 1980), and they had three children, among them Billy Conklin (died 2013) who suffered from some type of intellectual disability. They lived in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Out of caring for his son Billy, Conklin got involved in community work with such children. He took part in the organization of the Guild for Exceptional Children; and became a director of several other associations and medical facilities which cared for these children. He also entered politics as a Republican, and managed to unseat the Democratic incumbent from the 14th State Senate district in his second attempt in November 1956.

Conklin was a member of the New York State Senate from 1957 to 1978, sitting in the 171st, 172nd, 173rd, 174th, 175th, 176th, 177th, 178th, 179th, 180th, 181st and 182nd New York State Legislatures. There he lobbied for the employment of intellectually disabled persons as messengers and clerks by the State government in Albany, and sponsored legislation for mandatory tests of newborn babies for phenylketonuria.

He was a delegate to the 1972 Republican National Convention.

He died on February 15, 1990, in Victory Memorial Hospital in Brooklyn;^[2] and was buried at the Green-Wood Cemetery there.

Sources

External links

• William T. Conklin at Find a Grave