Edgar J. Nathan (August 28, 1891 – April 30, 1965) was a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

attorney and political figure who served as Manhattan Borough President from 1942 to 1946. He is to date the last Republican to serve as Manhattan Borough President.

Biography

Edgar Joshua Nathan Jr. was born in

on August 28, 1891. He graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

in 1913 and

Columbia University Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The university is known for its legal scholarship dating ba ...

in 1916 From 1916 to 1941 he practiced law in New York City at the firm of Cardozo and Nathan, which included several relatives, including his cousin

Benjamin N. Cardozo Benjamin Nathan Cardozo (May 24, 1870 – July 9, 1938) was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the New York Court of Appeals from 1914 to 1932 and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1932 until his deat ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Nathan worked in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

as an attorney for the War Trade Board. A Republican, in 1937 Nathan was elected as a Delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

, achieving success at the polls despite running in a Democratic district. In 1938 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

. In 1942 Nathan won election as Manhattan Borough President, and he served until 1946. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Nathan was involved in the city's

civil defense Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: Risk management, prevention, mitigation, prepara ...

effort and was a leader of bond drives, metal salvage events and other activities. After leaving office Nathan returned to the practice of law briefly as a partner in Gale, Bernays, Falk, Eisner & Nathan. In 1946

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 47th Governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in 1944 and ...

appointed Nathan to the New York State Supreme Court. Nathan won election to a full fourteen-year term later that year, and was reelected in 1960. The State Judicial Conference certified Nathan for continued service after he reached the mandatory retirement age for judges of 70, and he remained on the bench until his death. Nathan died in New York City on April 30, 1965.

Family

Nathan was descended from Abraham de Lucena, one of the first 13 Jewish immigrants to the United States. In addition, his ancestors included

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Gershom Mendes Seixas Gershom Mendes Seixas (January 15, 1745 – July 2, 1816) was the first native-born Jewish religious leader in the United States. He served as the hazzan of Congregation Shearith Israel, New York City's first Spanish and Portuguese synagogue, fo ...

, who founded New York City's Shearith Israel congregation in 1654. Nathan was President of Shearith Israel from 1951 until his death. Another Nathan ancestor from his Seixas line, Benjamin M. Seixas, served as an officer of the New York Militia during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. As a result, Nathan was able to join the

Sons of the American Revolution The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), formally the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR), is a federally chartered patriotic organization. The National Society, a nonprofit corporation headquartered in Louisvi ...

. In addition to being related to Benjamin Cardozo, Nathan was also a cousin of

Emma Lazarus Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887) was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish and Georgism, Georgist causes. She is remembered for writing the sonnet "The New Colossus", which wa ...

.Morning Freiheit Association
Jewish Currents
Volume 30, 1976, page 9

References

External links

Edgar J. Nathan Jr. papers
at th
New-York Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nathan, Edgar J. 1891 births 1965 deaths Lawyers from New York City Jewish American people in New York (state) politics Williams College alumni Columbia Law School alumni New York (state) lawyers New York (state) Republicans Manhattan borough presidents New York state court judges 20th-century New York state court judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American Sephardic Jews