John James Bennett (March 2, 1894 Brooklyn,

Kings County, New York Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

– October 4, 1967, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York) was an American lawyer and politician.

Life

Bennett was educated in Brooklyn's public and parochial schools. He was an alumnus of

St. Francis College , mottoeng = My God, My All , established = , type = Private college , chancellor = , president = Miguel Martinez-Saenz , provost = Jennifer Lancas ...

in Brooklyn Heights. Bennett enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in France during World War I as a member of the 77th Infantry Division's 308th Infantry Regiment. He also served as state commander of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

. In 1923 Bennett received a law degree from Brooklyn Law School and became an attorney in Brooklyn, also working as a professor at his alma mater. He was New York State Attorney General from 1931 to 1942, elected in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

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

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 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

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

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

. He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1938. He was a delegate to the

1940 Democratic National Convention The 1940 Democratic National Convention was held at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois from July 15 to July 18, 1940. The convention resulted in the nomination of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term. Secretary o ...

. In

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

, he was the

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

candidate for

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 has ...

, but was defeated by Republican

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

. During World War II Bennett served in Europe with

Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF th ...

(SHAEF). He also served as Deputy Mayor of New York City, Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, Chief Justice of the Court of Special Sessions, and Chairman of the New York City Planning Commission. In 1961, Bennett was named associate professor of government at his alma mater, St. Francis College. At the time he was also a partner at the law firm of Barr, Bennett, and Fuller. Bennett died of a heart attack at his Brooklyn home.Newspaper article, John J. Bennett, Lawyer, Dead
''New York Times'', October 5, 1967 He was buried at the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Brooklyn.

References

Sources

Political Graveyard entry, John J. Bennett Jr.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, John James 1894 births 1967 deaths Politicians from Brooklyn New York State Attorneys General 20th-century American politicians St. Francis College alumni Brooklyn Law School alumni Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn