Nathan Burkan (November 8, 1879 – June 6, 1936) was a Romanian-born Jewish-American lawyer from New York.

Life

Burkan was born on November 8, 1879, in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, the son of Moritz Burkan and Tillie Armm. Burkan immigrated to America in 1886 and settled with his family in the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, where his father operated a series of luncheonettes and pool rooms in the red-light district. He was enrolled in the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

when he was fifteen and graduated three years later. He then did a two-year course at the

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

, graduating from there in 1899. As he was too young to be admitted to the state bar that year, he initially worked as a stenographer with lawyer Julius Lehmann in the

Woolworth Building The Woolworth Building is a residential building and early skyscraper at 233 Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the Tribeca neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Cass Gilbert, it was the tallest building in the world f ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1900. Burkan wasn't a member of a white-shoe firm and never had any partners, although he did have associates and at one point occupied an entire floor of the Continental Building at Broadway and 41st Street. His first major client was light opera composer

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and co ...

. A copyright attorney, a number of his clients were important figures in show business, like

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

and

Florenz Ziegfeld Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the '' Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He al ...

, and motion picture companies like

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

, Columbia Picture Association, and

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

. In 1930, he successfully defended

Mae West Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned more than seven decades. Recognized as a prominent sex symbol of her time, she was known ...

when she faced obscenity charges over her show '' Pleasure Man'', only to reportedly sue her afterwards for failing to pay his fees. He appeared on behalf of

Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt (born Maria Mercedes Morgan; 23 August 1904 13 February 1965) was an American socialite. Vanderbilt was the mother of fashion designer and artist Gloria Vanderbilt and maternal grandmother of television journalist Anders ...

in the custody battle over her daughter Gloria. In 1906, he testified before Congress on behalf of the

Music Publishers Association The Music Publishers Association of the United States (MPA) is a non-profit music publishing organization based in New York City. Founded in 1895, the MPA is the oldest music trade organization in the United States which addresses issues pert ...

to increase copyright protection for intellectual property owners. This led to the

Copyright Act of 1909 The Copyright Act of 1909 () was a landmark statute in United States statutory copyright law. It went into effect on July 1, 1909. The 1909 Act was repealed and superseded by the Copyright Act of 1976, which went into effect on January 1, 1978; ...

. In 1914, he helped Victor Herbert, Irving Berlin, and other composers and music publishers to form the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

(ASCAP) in order to protect their intellectual rights. As part of the ASCAP's efforts to sell licenses to businesses that wanted to play their music, Burkan filed a lawsuit on behalf of Herbert against a New York City restaurant that played Herbert's song ''Sweethearts''. The lawsuit, '' Herbert v. Shanley Co.'', reached the United States Supreme Court, where Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes sided with Herbert and the ASCAP. His clients also included

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (; born Szmuel Gelbfisz; ; July 1879 (most likely; claimed to be August 27, 1882) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer and pioneer in the American film industry, who produce ...

, Arthur M. Loew,

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; ; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; a ...

Constance Bennett Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Cinema of the United States, Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 193 ...

Walter Wanger Walter Wanger (born Walter Feuchtwanger; July 11, 1894 – November 18, 1968) was an American film producer active from the 1910s, his career concluding with the turbulent production of ''Cleopatra,'' his last film, in 1963. He began at Paramo ...

, and

Jesse Lasky Jesse Louis Lasky (September 13, 1880 – January 13, 1958) was an American pioneer Film producer, motion picture producer who was a key founder of what was to become Paramount Pictures, and father of screenwriter Jesse L. Lasky Jr. Early life ...

. Burkan was a delegate to the 1915 New York State Constitutional Convention. He was an alternate delegate to the

1916 Democratic National Convention The 1916 Democratic National Convention was held at the St. Louis Coliseum in St. Louis, Missouri from June 14 to June 16, 1916. It resulted in the nomination of President Woodrow Wilson and Vice President Thomas R. Marshall for reelection. P ...

and a delegate to the

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

, and 1936 Democratic National Conventions. He was also a member of the

New York State Democratic Committee The New York State Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, and it has an office in Albany, New York, Albany.

by 1930, a presidential elector in the 1932 presidential election, and a delegate to the 1933 convention to ratify the 21st Amendment in New York. He served as the Democratic leader in the 17th Assembly District in southern

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 1915 until his death and as chairman of the Triborough Bridge Authority in 1933. Burkan was an executive member 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 ...

and a member of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

, the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

, the

New York County Lawyers' Association The New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) is a bar association located in New York City. The New York County Lawyers Association was founded in 1908 because the existing bar association excluded some lawyers from membership due to their ra ...

The Lambs The Lambs, Inc. (also known as The Lambs Club) is a New York City social club that nurtures those active in the arts, as well as those who are supporters of the arts, by providing activities and a clubhouse for its members. It is America's old ...

, the Friars Club, the Level Club, the

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a Gentlemen's club, private social club and athletic club in New York (state), New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Pa ...

, the Lakeville Golf and Country Club, the Oakridge Golf and Country Club, and the Bohemians. He attended Temple Beth-El. In 1927, he married Marienne Alexander in a surprise ceremony at his apartment officiated by Rabbi Nathan Krass. His son Nathan Burkan Jr. was a lawyer who served as counsel of the Office of Rent Control of the Housing and Development Administration. Burkan died from an attack of acute indigestion at his country home in Great Neck on June 6, 1936. Three thousand people attended his funeral at Temple Emanu-El, with another 500 people standing outside the Temple. Gene Buck, president of the ASCAP, delivered the eulogy, and the services were conducted by Rabbi Nathan A. Perilman and Cantor Moshe Rudinow. Mayor

Fiorello La Guardia Fiorello Henry La Guardia (born Fiorello Raffaele Enrico La Guardia; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as the 99th mayor of New Yo ...

and former Mayor James J. Walker led the funeral procession of over fifty honorary pallbearers, who consisted of jurists, Tammany leaders, stage personalities, and conductors. Among those who attended the funeral were

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 ...

Justices Peter J. Schmuck,

Ferdinand Pecora Ferdinand Pecora (January 6, 1882 – December 7, 1971) was an American lawyer and New York State Supreme Court judge who became famous in the 1930s as Chief Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency during its invest ...

, Julius Miller, Aaron J. Levy, and Salvatore A. Cotillo, General Sessions Judges Morris Koenig, Owen W. Bohan, George L. Donnellan, and James Garrett Wallace, Federal Judges John C. Knox and Martin T. Manton, Surrogate James A. Foley, Representative Sol Bloom, former Supreme Court Justice Thomas C. T. Crain, Grover A. Whalen, George V. McLaughlin, James J. Hines, A. C. Blumenthal, Will Hays,

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

Morris Gest Morris Gest (also Maurice Guest, March 15, 1875 – May 16, 1942) was an American theatrical producer of the early 20th century. Early life Moishe Gershnowitz was born near Vilna (then part of the Russian empire, now Lithuania), Edna Nahshon, "Go ...

, District Attorney William C. Dodge,

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

and

Joseph Schenck Joseph Michael Schenck (; December 25, 1876 – October 22, 1961) was a Russian-born American film studio executive. Life and career Schenck was born to a Jewish family in Rybinsk, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russian Empire. He emigrated to New York Cit ...

, and

. He was buried in Union Field Cemetery in Queens.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Burkan, Nathan 1879 births 1936 deaths People from Iași 19th-century Romanian Jews American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Romanian emigrants to the United States People from the Lower East Side City College of New York alumni New York University School of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers Lawyers from New York City New York (state) Democrats 1932 United States presidential electors 19th-century American Jews 20th-century American Jews American Reform Jews