
Herbert Henry Lehman (28 March 1878-5 December 1963) was the Governor of New York (D) from 1 January 1933 to 3 December 1942, succeeding Franklin D. Roosevelt and preceding Charles Poletti; he also served in the US Senate from 9 November 1949 to 3 January 1957, succeeding John Foster Dulles and preceding Jacob K. Javits.
Biography[]
Herbert Henry Lehman was born in Manhattan, New York City to a Reform Jewish family, and he graduated from Williams College in 1899. In 1908, he became a partner in the Lehman Brothers investment banking firm, and he served as a colonel in the US Army during World War I. In 1920, he became active in Democratic Party politics, and he served as Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1 January 1929 to 31 December 1932, succeeding Edwin Corning and preceding M. William Bray. He then served four terms as Governor of New York, supporting President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs by implementing similar ones in his state. In 1942, after being defeated for re-election, he resigned his governorship a month early to work for the State Deparment during World War II, and he was elected to the US Senate in 1949. He was one of the most liberal senators, opposing Joseph McCarthy's communist witch hunt. After leaving the Senate, he worked with Eleanor Roosevelt to destroy the Tammany Hall political machine, and he founded his own children's zoo in Central Park. Lehman died in Manhattan in 1963 at the age of 85.