Benjamin Stanley Rosenthal (June 8, 1923 – January 4, 1983) was an American
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
politician from
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
who represented the northern portion of
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
during twelve Congressional terms, from 1962 until his death. Upon his death at age 59, he was the third-most senior Representative in the New York delegation.
Biography
Born in New York City, Rosenthal attended public schools (including
Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School (pronounced ), commonly referred to among its students as Stuy (pronounced ), is a State school, public university-preparatory school, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school ...
),
Long Island University
Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LI ...
and the
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
. He served in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
from 1943 to 1946. Thereafter, he received his
LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
from
Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty.
Brookly ...
in 1949 and an
LL.M.
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
in 1952. He was admitted to the New York bar in 1949 and commenced practice in New York City.
Rosenthal was elected as a
Democrat to the
Eighty-seventh United States Congress, filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of Representative
Lester Holtzman. Taking office on February 20, 1962, he was re-elected that fall, and then again to ten succeeding Congresses.
Rosenthal was elected as a "regular" or machine Democrat, but compiled a liberal record, opposing the Vietnam War early on and working on consumer protection issues.
On May 17, 1962, Rosenthal read a statement into the
Congressional Record
The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record In ...
praising the magazine ''
Mad
Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to:
Geography
* Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia
* Mád, a village in Hungary
* Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code
* Mad River (disambiguation), several ri ...
'' on its tenth anniversary. (Rosenthal's district, NY-8, included the part of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
where Mad's offices were.) "''Mad Magazine''...for the last 10 years has humorously pointed out the laughable foibles of business, labor, advertising, television, sports and entertainment – to say nothing of politics," Rosenthal said.
Death and legacy
Rosenthal was re-elected again in 1982, but died of cancer in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
on January 4, 1983, just one day after the
98th United States Congress
The 98th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 198 ...
met for the first time. On March 1,
Gary Ackerman
Gary Leonard Ackerman (born November 19, 1942) is an American retired politician and former U.S. Representative from New York, serving from 1983 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. On March 15, 2012, Ackerman announced that he woul ...
was elected to the seat and held it through 2013.
Rosenthal is buried in
Beth David Cemetery in
Elmont Elmont may refer to:
Places
In the United States
*Elmont, Missouri
* Elmont, New York
**Elmont station, a Long Island Rail Road station in Elmont, New York
*Elmont, Virginia
Fictional people
*Elmont (Doonesbury), a character in the Doonesbury comi ...
, New York.
The Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library at
Queens College, City University of New York
Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...
, is named in his honor.
Rosenthal's papers are held by the library's Department of Special Collections and Archives.
The Benjamin Rosenthal Collection
. Special Collections and Archives, Queens College, City University of New York. archives.qc.cuny.edu. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
See also
* List of Jewish members of the United States Congress
This is a list of Jewish members of the United States Congress. , there are 10 Jewish senators and 27 Jewish members of the House of Representatives serving in the United States Congress.
Senate
Elected to the Senate, but not seated
House ...
*
References
External links
Guide to the Benjamin S. Rosenthal papers
at Queens College, City University of New York, including links to selected digitized items
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Benjamin Stanley
1923 births
1983 deaths
City College of New York alumni
Long Island University alumni
Stuyvesant High School alumni
Brooklyn Law School alumni
New York University School of Law alumni
Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives
Jewish American military personnel
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)
Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C.
United States Army soldiers
20th-century American politicians
Burials at Beth David Cemetery
20th-century American Jews