Fiorello Henry LaGuardia

Fiorello Henry LaGuardia , 1882-1947, U.S. public official, congressman, and mayor of New York City (1934-45), b. New York City. He spent his early years in Arizona with his father, an army bandmaster who had come from Italy to the United States. LaGuardia went to Europe while still a youth, and was employed by the U.S. consulates in Hungary, Trieste, and Fiume. Returning to New York City, he studied law while working (1907-10) in the U.S. immigration service, and was admitted (1910) to the bar. He ran for Congress on the Republican ticket unsuccessfully in 1914, but won in 1916 after a vigorous campaign against the Tammany machine. In Congress he joined in the successful fight for the liberalization of the House rules. He commanded (1917) U.S. air forces on the Italian-Austrian front in World War I. LaGuardia was president (1920-21) of the New York City board of aldermen and returned (1923-33) to the House of Representatives, where he fought for numerous labor reforms and sponsored the Norris-LaGuardia Act, which prohibited injunctions in labor disputes.

With the backing of Samuel Seabury , LaGuardia successfully ran (1933) for mayor of New York City on the Fusion ticket. As mayor he executed a vast program of reform. He reduced political corruption, forwarded the modernization and beautification of the city, brought about the adoption (1938) of a new city charter, introduced slum clearance projects, and improved health and sanitary conditions. "The Little Flower" (from his first name), a shrewd, nonpartisan, and uncorruptable spokesman for urban America, was reelected mayor of New York City for three consecutive four-year terms, but chose not to run again in 1945. LaGuardia served (1946) as director of the UN Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. His courage, enthusiasm, and energy made him a nationally known figure.

Bibliography: See his autobiography (ed. by M. L. Werner, 1948, repr. 1961); biography by A. Mann (2 vol., 1959-65, repr. 1969); E. Cuneo, Life with Fiorello (1955); H. Zinn, LaGuardia in Congress (1959, repr. 1969); T. Kessner, Fiorello H. LaGuardia and the Making of Modern New York (1989); A. Brodsky, The Great Mayor (2003).

La Guardia, Fiorello Henry (b. 11 Dec. 1882, d. 20 Sept. 1947). Mayor of New York 1933–45 Born in New York City of Italian-Jewish extraction, he qualified in law from New York University in 1910 and began public life as a lawyer. He was Deputy Attorney-General of New York (1915–17), and a Republican member of Congress (1916–19, 1923–33). Elected Mayor of New York in 1933, he worked closely with F. D. Roosevelt, despite his Republican party convictions, to generate urban policy during the Great Depression. In 1941–2 he also worked in Roosevelt's administration as Director of the US Office of Civilian Defense. He was an immensely popular defender of the public against vested interests and developed the city's infrastructure. He was also popular for his integrity and his resistance to organized crime. In a radio show of 1945 he offended so many special-interest groups that he was taken off the air. After retirement, he became Director of the UN Relief and Rehabilitation Administration from April to December 1946.