Hugo E. Rogers (November 26, 1899 – December 14, 1974) was a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

politician who served as the 16th Borough President of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

from 1946 to 1949 and was a leader of

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...

Early life and career

Rogers was born in New York in 1899 and attended

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

. He went on to graduate from the

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

School of Engineering and the

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private, American law school in the Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The third oldest law school in New York City, its history predates its official founding in 1891 by Theodore William Dwight, T ...

. Rogers served in the infantry in

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 ...

, and was honorably discharged as a sergeant. Rogers served as a counsel to the Democratic organization in

New York's 17th congressional district New York's 17th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in Southern New York (state), New York. It includes all of Rockland County, New York, Rockland County and Putnam County, N ...

, located in Harlem, and as counsel and secretary to the Democratic majority leader 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 ...

in 1935. He also served for 14 years on the

law committee. He enlisted again in 1942 and rose from a second lieutenant to a major, serving at the New York Point of Embarkation.

Borough President

As a candidate, Rogers was an officer in uniform and could therefore not participate in political campaigns or give speeches. Instead, his speeches were made for him by other supporters. In 1948, against the wishes of New York mayor

William O'Dwyer William O'Dwyer (July 11, 1890November 24, 1964) was an Irish-American politician who served as the 100th Mayor of New York City, holding that office from 1946 to 1950. O'Dwyer went on to serve President Harry Truman as Ambassador to Mexico fr ...

, Rogers was named leader of the

organization, replacing O'Dwyer ally Frank J. Sampson. In 1949, however, he was pushed out of the position by the mayor and replaced by Carmine G. DeSapio. Rogers was then pressured out of running for reelection, although he argued that his departure from the race was only in the interest of party unity.

Later life

Rogers died on December 14, 1974, of a heart attack at Polyclinic Hospital.

Honors and awards

In 1948, Rogers received the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

, presented to him by General

Courtney Hodges General Courtney Hicks Hodges (5 January 1887 – 16 January 1966) was a decorated senior officer in the United States Army who commanded First U.S. Army in the Western European Campaign of World War II. Hodges was a notable "mustang" officer, ...

at a ceremony at

Fort Jay Fort Jay is a coastal bastion fort and the name of a former United States Army post on Governors Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. Fort Jay is the oldest existing defensive structure on the island, and was named for John Jay, a m ...

, on

Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk ...

. In 1969 he was a winner of the New York University Alumni Meritorious Service Medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Hugo Manhattan borough presidents New York (state) Democrats Recipients of the Legion of Merit 1899 births 1974 deaths American military personnel of World War I New York Law School alumni Polytechnic Institute of New York University alumni Stuyvesant High School alumni American military personnel of World War II