Frank S. Katzenbach

Frank Snowden Katzenbach (November 5, 1868 – March 13, 1929) was an American jurist and Democratic party politician from New Jersey. He was an Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and was the Democratic nominee for Governor of New Jersey in 1907. He was the brother of New Jersey Attorney General Edward L. Katzenbach and uncle of United States Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach.

Katzenbach was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1868 to Frank S. and Augusta (Mushbach) Katzenbach. He attended the Model School and graduated from Princeton University in 1889. He prepared for the bar at Columbia Law School and in the office of James Buchanan. He was elected alderman-at-large in Trenton in 1898, and then was elected mayor in 1901 and 1903. [http://books.google.com/books?id=vdgDAAAAYAAJ "Scannell's New Jersey First Citizens, 1919-1920"] . J.J. Scannell, 1919.]

At the Democratic State Convention of 1907 Katzenbach received the party's nomination for Governor of New Jersey. In the campaign against the Republican nominee John Franklin Fort, both candidates agreed on the creation of a public utilities commission, the enactment of civil service reform, and the adoption of direct primary elections. [ [http://www.njstatelib.org/NJ_Information/Digital_Collections/Governors_of_New_Jersey/GFORJ.pdf Biography of John F. Fort] , New Jersey State Library.] The election returns were extremely close, with many newspapers (including "The New York Times") announcing the next day that Katzenbach had won. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9907E1D6143EE733A25755C0A9679D946697D6CF "Frank S. Katzenbach. The Governor-Elect Twice Mayor of Trenton — Elected on His Birthday."] , "The New York Times", November 6, 1907. Accessed June 15, 2008.] But late returns from Hudson County showed that Fort had eked out a victory.

Katzenbach continued practicing law until 1920, when he was appointed by Governor Edward I. Edwards to the New Jersey Supreme Court. He served as a Justice until 1929, when he died in a Trenton hospital from septicemia caused by a leg infection. He was 60 years old. [ [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20917FC395A167A93C6A81788D85F4D8285F9 "Justice Katzenbach Dies in Hospital"] , "The New York Times", March 14, 1929. Accessed June 15, 2008.]

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