Morris Franklin (October 20, 1801 – October 22, 1885) was an American lawyer, businessman and politician 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 * '' ...

Life

He was born on October 20, 1801, in

New York City 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 U ...

, the son of Thomas Franklin, a merchant and chief engineer of the Volunteer Fire Department from 1799 to 1812. He studied law and was admitted to the bar. 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 Assem ...

(New York Co.) in

1837 Events January–March * January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes 6,000–7,000 casualties in Ottoman Syria. * January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States. * February – Charles Dickens ...

and 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 ...

(1st D.) in

1842 Events January–March * January ** Michael Alexander takes office, as the first appointee to the Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem. ** American medical student William E. Clarke of Berkshire Medical College becomes the first pe ...

and

1843 Events January–March * January ** Serial publication of Charles Dickens's novel '' Martin Chuzzlewit'' begins in London; in the July chapters, he lands his hero in the United States. ** Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" ...

. In 1844, Franklin was the Whig candidate for

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public proper ...

, but was defeated by James Harper who ran as the candidate of the

American Republican Party The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Ac ...

. Franklin was President of the

Board of Aldermen of New York City The New York City Board of Aldermen was a body that was the upper house of New York City's Common Council from 1824 to 1875, the lower house of its Municipal Assembly upon consolidation in 1898 until the charter was amended in 1901 to abolish th ...

from 1847 to 1849. He was President of the

New York Life Insurance Company New York Life Insurance Company (NYLIC) is the third-largest life insurance company in the United States, the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States and is ranked #67 on the 2021 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States ...

from 1848 until after 1870. He died on October 22, 1885, in

Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and th ...

References

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 133f, 141, 219 and 274; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
''The Insurance Times''
(issue of April 1870; pg. 247)
''Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York for 1852''
by D. T. Valentine (pg. 363) {{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Morris 1801 births 1885 deaths New York (state) state senators New York (state) Whigs 19th-century American politicians Members of the New York State Assembly New York City Council members New York Life Insurance Company