Michael William Bray (September 25, 1889 – January 17, 1961) was an American lawyer and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

. He was

Lieutenant Governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket w ...

from 1933 to 1938.

Biography

Bray was born in

Churubusco, New York Churubusco is a hamlet in the Town of Clinton, in Clinton County, New York, United States. The community is located on New York State Route 189, north of U.S. Route 11 near the Quebec border. The community was named in honor of the U.S. troo ...

on September 25, 1889, the son of John Bray and Hannah (Fahey) Bray. He graduated from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

in 1911, and from

Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has an affiliation agreement with University at Al ...

in 1913. He commenced practice in

Utica, New York Utica () is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 U.S. Census. Located on the Mohawk River at the fo ...

. In 1924, he became Chairman of the Oneida County Democratic Committee, and he was Chairman of the

New York State Democratic Committee The New York State Democratic Committee is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of New York. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, and it has an office in Albany.1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hir ...

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...

and

1948 Democratic National Convention The 1948 Democratic National Convention was held at Philadelphia Convention Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 12 to July 14, 1948, and resulted in the nominations of President Harry S. Truman for a full term and Senator Alben W ...

s. In

Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, former Governor

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a Ci ...

and state Democratic Party chairman

James A. 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 Postmast ...

backed the nomination of

Herbert H. Lehman Herbert Henry Lehman (March 28, 1878 – December 5, 1963) was an American Democratic Party politician from New York. He served from 1933 until 1942 as the 45th governor of New York and represented New York State in the U.S. Senate from 1949 ...

for governor, over the opposition of

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 ...

and its allies. Lehman won, and as a peace offering Farley permitted Tammany to choose the candidate for lieutenant governor. Bray was nominated, and won the general election, defeating Republican

F. Trubee Davison Frederick Trubee Davison (February 7, 1896 – November 14, 1974) was an American World War I aviator, assistant United States Secretary of War, director of personnel for the Central Intelligence Agency, and president of the American Museum o ...

. (Prior to 1954 the governor and lieutenant governor of New York were elected separately. Each party's candidates for governor and lieutenant governor now run separately in the primary election, and on a single ballot in the general election.) Lehman and Bray were renominated and reelected in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

as he defeated

Fred J. Douglas Fred James Douglas (September 14, 1869 – January 1, 1949) was a United States representative from New York. Born in Clinton, Worcester County, Massachusetts, he moved with his parents to Little Falls, New York in 1874. He attended the public ...

. They won again in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, and Bray defeated Ralph K. Robertson. In

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the authoritarian regime. ** State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France ...

Bray was replaced as the lieutenant governor nominee by

Charles Poletti Charles Poletti (July 2, 1903 – August 8, 2002) was an American lawyer and politician. He became the 46th governor of New York in December 1942, and was the first Italian-American governor in the United States. Born in Barre, Vermont to Ital ...

, who had been Lehman's counsel and a Justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

. Before Governor Lehman left office in 1942, he appointed Bray to the

New York Public Service Commission The New York Public Service Commission is the public utilities commission of the New York state government that regulates and oversees the electric, gas, water, and telecommunication industries in New York as part of the Department of Public Servi ...

, and he served until 1945. In January 1948 Bray was confined to his bed by a heart condition when he was severely injured in a house fire. His death appeared imminent, and a priest administered the last rites. Bray suffered severe burns to his face, arms, and torso, and his right forearm was amputated, but he recovered and left the hospital in March. In November 1948 Bray wed Catherine Claire Coleman of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, who survived him. Bray later served as bankruptcy trustee for the company that operated public buses in

Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, and he was President of the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

in 1950. In 1955, Bray was appointed to a 10-year term on the State Building Commission. He died at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in

on January 17, 1961. He was buried at Saint Patrick Cemetery in Chateaugay, New York.

1932 New York State Democratic Ticket

*Governor:

*Lieutenant Governor: M. William Bray *Comptroller: Morris S. Tremaine *Attorney General: John J. Bennett Jr. *U.S. Senate:

Robert F. Wagner Robert Ferdinand Wagner I (June 8, 1877May 4, 1953) was an American politician. He was a Democratic U.S. Senator from New York from 1927 to 1949. Born in Prussia, Wagner migrated with his family to the United States in 1885. After graduating ...

1934 New York State Democratic Ticket

*Governor:

*Lieutenant Governor: M. William Bray *Comptroller: Morris S. Tremaine *Attorney General: John J. Bennett Jr. *U.S. Senate:

Royal S. Copeland Royal Samuel Copeland (November 7, 1868June 17, 1938), a United States Senator from New York from 1923 until 1938, was an academic, homeopathic physician, and politician. He held elected offices in both Michigan (as a Republican) and New Y ...

1936 New York State Democratic Ticket

*Governor:

*Lieutenant Governor: M. William Bray *Comptroller: Morris S. Tremaine *Attorney General: John J. Bennett Jr.

Biography

1932 New York State Democratic Ticket

1934 New York State Democratic Ticket

1936 New York State Democratic Ticket

References

Further reading