Joseph Clark Baldwin (January 11, 1897 – October 27, 1957) was an American politician, United States Army officer, and a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

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 * '' ...

Biography

Born Joseph Clark Baldwin III in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, son of Joseph Clark Baldwin Jr. and Fanny Taylor Baldwin, he dropped the III upon his father's death in 1937. He attended private schools, and was graduated from St. Paul's School, Concord, New Hampshire, in 1916. He married Marthe Guillon-Verne on December 5, 1923, and they had two sons and two daughters. As told by his friend and employee Henry Munson: "Joe and his wife would have "At Homes" every other Thursday evening. Much of NY Society turned out as well as visiting celebrities. One time Walker Buckner said "Someone told me that Winston Churchill was in NY but I knew he couldn't be or he would have been at Joe's "At Home" last Thursday. Churchill called Joe "Horatio" at the Bridge because of his lonely but successful fight to clean up NYC." Henry also mentions Joe's sense of humor and told this story from Bobby Straus 'He told about a meeting when a Lower East Side politician introduced him as Alderman Joseph Clark Baldwin the "Toid." Joe couldn't resist saying that since his father had died, he had dropped the 'Toid.'"

Career

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Baldwin enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1917; but after 6 months of seasickness he was transferred to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in 1918. He first served overseas as a private in the Machine Gun Company of the Three Hundred and Fifth Infantry. He then received a commission and, as captain, commanded the First Platoon, Machine Gun Company, Thirty-ninth Infantry. In honor of his service in France he was made an officer of the

French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

. Graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1920, Baldwin was a political reporter for the

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

, and became Associate Editor for the "North Westchester Times" from 1922 to 1930. In 1930 he established a public relations firm. From 1929 to 1934, he served as a member of the board of aldermen of New York City. From the recollections of his employee Henry Munson "In NYC's old Board of Alderman, Joe was the only Republican member with 94 Tammany Democrats. They joked that he held his party caucuses in a phone booth. He led the fight to get NY State to investigate the very rotten administration of Mayor Jimmy Walker. The Seabury Investigation resulted and a Fusion Mayor - La Guardia was elected and a new NYC charter was approved: Joe was well publicized for his role." He served as President of

The New York Young Republican Club The New York Young Republican Club (NYYRC) is an organization for members of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party between the ages of 18 and 40 in New York City. The New York Young Republican Club is the oldest and largest chapt ...

from 1930 to 1931. He was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(17th D.) in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart bec ...

and

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 of the New York City Council from 1937 to 1941. He was 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 ...

of 1938. Baldwin was elected as a

to the

77th United States Congress The 77th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 194 ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

Kenneth F. Simpson Kenneth Farrand Simpson (May 4, 1895 – January 25, 1941) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. Biography Simpson was born in New York City on May 4, 1895, the son of Dr. William Kelly Simpson, a ...

. He was re-elected to the 78th and

79th United States Congress The 79th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1945, ...

es, holding office from March 11, 1941, to January 3, 1947. An unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1946 to the Eightieth Congress, he became a representative for United Dye and Chemical Corporation, and William Recht Company, Incorporated.

Death

Baldwin died, in the Veterans Administration Hospital, Manhattan, New York County, New York, on October 27, 1957 (age 60 years, 289 days). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Joseph C St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni Harvard University alumni 1897 births 1957 deaths Republican Party New York (state) state senators New York City Council members Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) United States Navy personnel of World War I Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) 20th-century American politicians United States Army personnel of World War I