James H. Torrens (September 12, 1874 – April 5, 1952) was a congressman and New York

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

figure in the first half of the 20th century. Born in New York City on September 12, 1874, Torrens attended the city's public schools. Torrens was for many years the vice president and treasurer of the D. Emil Klein Company, cigar manufacturers. During the early 1930s, Torrens served as vice president and general director of the Washington Heights Chamber of Commerce. Torrens was a member of the

organization and served as Democratic leader of New York's "old" 21st congressional district (today's 16th congressional district, incorporating Washington Heights and parts of Harlem and the Bronx) from 1933 to 1947. In a special election held on February 29, 1944, Torrens was elected to the Seventy-eighth Congress as the Democratic/American Labor Party Candidate, filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of Democrat Joseph A. Gavagan. (Torrens, who did not covet a congressional career, ran at the specific urging of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, who believed Torrens the strongest candidate to hold the seat for the

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 ...

.) Torrens was elected to a full term in November 1944 and served until the end of his term on January 3, 1947. He did not run for reelection in 1946. Torrens died at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, New York City, on April 5, 1952. He is buried at

Gate of Heaven Cemetery Gate of Heaven Cemetery, approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of New York City, was established in 1917 at 10 West Stevens Ave. in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York, as a Roman Catholic burial site. Among its famous residents is ...

, not far from his friends

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

, James Cagney and

James Farley James Aloysius Farley (May 30, 1888 – June 9, 1976) was an American politician and Knight of Malta who simultaneously served as chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and Postmaste ...

. Torrens was succeeded in the House of Representatives by

Jacob Javits Jacob Koppel Javits ( ; May 18, 1904 – March 7, 1986) was an American lawyer and politician. During his time in politics, he represented the state of New York in both houses of the United States Congress. A member of the Republican Party, he al ...

External links

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TIME Magazine, May 13, 1944: "Elephant Ride in Harlem"
1874 births 1952 deaths Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Hawthorne, New York) Leaders of Tammany Hall Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Politicians from New York City {{NewYork-Representative-stub