John P. O'Brien

Infobox Officeholder
name = John P. O'Brien


imagesize = 200x200px
caption = O'Brien in 1932.
order = Mayor of New York City
term_start = January 1, 1933
term_end = December 31, 1933
predecessor = Joseph V. McKee
successor = Fiorello H. La Guardia
birth_date = February 1, 1873
birth_place =
death_date = September 21, 1951
death_place = New York, New York
constituency =
party = Democrat
spouse = Helen E.C. Madigan
profession =
religion = Roman Catholic


footnotes =

John Patrick O'Brien (February 1, 1873 – September 21, 1951) was an Irish-American politician who served as the Mayor of New York City from January 1 to December 31 1933. cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Ex-Mayor O'Brien Dies At Home At 78; Former Corporation Counsel, Surrogate Was Elected To Fill Out Walker's Final Year Ex-Mayor O'Brien Dies In Home At 78 Was Surrogate For 10 Years |url= |quote=Former Mayor John P. O'Brien died at his home, 40 East Seventyfifth Street at 7:25 o'clock last night. He was 78 years old. His five children were at the deathbed. |publisher=New York Times |date=September 27, 1951, Thursday |accessdate=2007-06-14 ] [John Patrick O'Brien comes from the World War I draft registration]

He was born on February 1, 1873 to Mary and Patrick O'Brien.

He received his B.A. from Holy Cross College and his masters and law degree from Georgetown University. He later served as City Corporation Counsel and as a New York Surrogate Court judge.

Shortly after the surprise resignation of Mayor Jimmy Walker in 1932, Tammany Hall nominated O'Brien for mayor in a special election, and he beat write-in candidate (and Acting Mayor) Joseph V. McKee by more than half a million votes.

O'Brien's inauguration was held in the Hall of Records, at 31 Chambers Street in Manhattan, and was devoid of the pageantry that had greeted many of his predecessors. His inauguration speech did not outline a vision for the city, but rather, reflected on the work of the court and the legal profession in general.

He married Helen E. C. Madigan (c1875-1950) in 1908 and their children include: Gerard J. O'Brien, James A. O'Brien, Lawrence J. O'Brien, John G. O'Brien, and a daughter who married Victor E. Forker.

Although he is credited with expanding the city's ability to collect taxes, restoring order to the city's finances, and trimming the budget, O'Brien was considered a colorless party hack, and as such was defeated for re-election in a three-way race by the colorful Republican-City Fusion Party candidate, Fiorello H. La Guardia, in November 1933. He served just one year in office.

O'Brien returned to his legal work and served three times as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. He died on September 21, 1951 at his home at 40 East 75th Street at 7:25 p.m. He was buried in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Westchester County. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=2,000 at Funeral of John P. O'Brien. Cardinal Spellman Officiates in St. Patrick's at Ex-Mayor's Rites Notables Bearers |url= |quote=More than 2,000 persons, including 200 leaders in public life and thirty monsignori and priests, attended a Pontifical Requiem Mass in St. Patrick's Cathedral at 11 o'clock yesterday morning for John P. O'Brien, former Mayor of New York. Cardinal Spellman celebrated the mass. |publisher=New York Times |date=September 27, 1951, Thursday |accessdate=2007-06-14 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.nyc.gov/html/nyc100/html/classroom/hist_info/mayors.html#o'brien New York City biography]