William Frank Brunner (September 15, 1887 – April 23, 1965) was an American businessman and politician who four terms served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives 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 * '' ...

from 1929 to 1935.

Early life

Born in

Woodhaven, Queens Woodhaven is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered on the north by Park Lane South and Forest Park, on the east by Richmond Hill, on the south by Ozone Park and Atlantic Avenue, and t ...

, he attended the public schools,

Far Rockaway High School Far Rockaway High School was a public high school in New York City, at 821 Bay 25th Street in Far Rockaway in the borough of Queens. It operated from 1897 to 2011. Its alumni include three Nobel Prize laureates and convicted fraudster Ber ...

Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County line ...

, and Packard Commercial School in New York City. He moved to

Rockaway Park, Queens Rockaway Park is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. The area is on the Rockaway Peninsula, nestled between Jamaica Bay to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The neighborhood of Rockaway Beach lies on its eastern b ...

in 1901, engaged in the insurance and real-estate business, and served in the United States Navy as a yeoman first class from 1917 to 1919.

Political career

He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

(Queens Co., 5th D.) in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hold ...

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

and

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 ...

Congress

He was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-first and to the three succeeding Congresses, holding office from March 4, 1929, until his resignation on September 27, 1935, having been elected

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of Queens County. He served as sheriff from 1935 until his resignation in 1936 and was president of the

Board of Aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...

of New York City from January 1 to December 31, 1937.

Later career and death

Brunner resumed the insurance and real-estate business and was Queens County commissioner of borough works from July 1 to December 31, 1941. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination in 1942 and for election on the

American Labor Party The American Labor Party (ALP) was a political party in the United States established in 1936 that was active almost exclusively in the state of New York. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party of A ...

ticket to the Seventy-eighth Congress. He was president of Rockaway Beach Hospital (later named Peninsula General Hospital, then Peninsula Hospital Center) from 1946 to 1965. He died in Far Rockaway on April 23, 1965. Interment was in St. John's Cemetery, Middle Village.

References

Retrieved on 2008-03-28 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brunner, William F. 1887 births 1965 deaths People from Woodhaven, Queens United States Navy sailors Military personnel from New York City Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Sheriffs of Queens County, New York Far Rockaway High School alumni Businesspeople from Queens, New York Public officeholders of Rockaway, Queens Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople