Anning Smith Prall (September 17, 1870 – July 23, 1937) was a 6-term

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from New York from 1923 to 1935. He was born in

Port Richmond, Staten Island Port Richmond is a neighborhood situated on the North Shore of Staten Island, a borough of New York City. Port Richmond is bounded by Kill van Kull on the north, Jewett Avenue on the east, Forest Avenue on the south, and the Bayonne Bridge on t ...

and the first chief commissioner of the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

(FCC). Prall served as a member and chairman of the FCC from January 15, 1935, until his death in 1937 at his summer home in

Boothbay Harbor, Maine Boothbay Harbor is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,027 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Bayville, Sprucewold, and West Boothbay Harbor. During summer months, the entire Boothbay Harbor regio ...

Career

In his early years Prall was employed as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

in a New York

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

office. Prall attended

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, th ...

, studying business. From 1908 until 1918 he was in charge of a

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

department of a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

, while serving as the first president of the Staten Island Board of Realtors from 1915 to 1916. In 1918 Prall began a public service career when he was appointed Clerk of New York City's First District Municipal Court. He was appointed a member of the New York City Board of Education on January 1, 1918, and served until December 31, 1921, and was elected the board's president. He was New York City's commissioner of taxes and assessment from 1922 to 1923. He was a

delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (Unit ...

to the

1924 Democratic National Convention The 1924 Democratic National Convention, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City from June 24 to July 9, 1924, was the longest continuously running convention in United States political history. It took a record 103 ballots to nominat ...

and was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Sixty-eighth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Daniel J. Riordan. He was reelected to the sixty-ninth and to the four succeeding Congresses and served from November 6, 1923, to January 3, 1935. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1934.

Death

He died on July 23, 1937 and is interred at

Moravian Cemetery The Moravian Cemetery is a cemetery in the New Dorp neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City. Location Located at 2205 Richmond Road, the Moravian Cemetery is the largest and oldest active cemetery on Staten Island, having opened in 1740. ...

New Dorp New Dorp is a neighborhood on the East Shore of Staten Island, New York City, United States. New Dorp is bounded by Mill Road on the southeast, Tysens Lane on the southwest, Amboy and Richmond Roads on the northwest, and Bancroft Avenue on the n ...

, Staten Island.

Legacy

Middle School, Intermediate school (I.S.) 27 on Staten Island is also known as the Anning S. Prall School. He also served as Chairman of the FCC from March 9, 1935, to June 23, 1937.

References

;Specific

External links

Anning Smith Prall entry
at The Political Graveyard * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prall, Anning Smith 1870 births 1937 deaths Chairmen of the Federal Communications Commission People from Staten Island Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) New York University Stern School of Business alumni People from Boothbay Harbor, Maine Franklin D. Roosevelt administration personnel Burials at Moravian Cemetery