Thomas Francis Smith (July 24, 1865 – April 11, 1923) was a lawyer, newspaperman, and politician from New York. From 1917 to 1921, he served two terms in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Biography

Smith was born in New York City on July 24, 1865. He attended St. Francis Xavier College,

Manhattan College Manhattan University (previously Manhattan College) is a private, Catholic university in New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers (Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools) as an academy fo ...

, 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 ...

from 1899 to 1901. He subsequently became a reporter on the staff of the ''New York World'' and the ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''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 ...

'', and then a clerk of the city court in 1898–1917. Smith was admitted to the bar in 1911 and commenced practice in New York City.

Political career

Smith began his political career as a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1915 and to the Democratic National Convention in 1916. He was elected as a Democrat to the

Sixty-fifth United States Congress The 65th 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, D.C., from March 4, 1917, ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Michael F. Conry, and was reelected to the Sixty-sixth, to serve from April 12, 1917, to March 3, 1921. Smith was not a candidate for renomination in 1920.

Later career and death

After Congress, Smith became the public administrator of New York from April 1, 1921, until his death in a

taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

accident in New York City on April 11, 1923. Smith was interred in Calvary Cemetery, in

Long Island City, New York Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brookl ...

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Thomas Francis 1865 births 1923 deaths Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Queens) Manhattan College alumni New York Law School alumni New York (state) lawyers Road incident deaths in New York City Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century American lawyers Xavier High School (New York City) alumni 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives