May, Mitchell, 1870-1961

Mitchell May (July 10, 1870 – March 24, 1961) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New York's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1899 to 1901, as New York Secretary of State from 1913 to 1914, and as a justice of the New York state supreme court from 1922 to 1940.

Born in Brooklyn, he attended the public schools and Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. May graduated from Columbia University Law School in 1892, was admitted to the bar in 1893, and commenced practice in Brooklyn. He was elected as a Democrat to the 56th United States Congress, and served from March 4, 1899, to March 3, 1901. From 1906 to 1910, he was a member of the New York City Board of Education. He was an Assistant District Attorney of Kings County from 1910 to 1911.

May was elected Secretary of State of New York in 1912; he was defeated for re-election in 1914. He served as county judge of Kings County from 1916 to 1921, and was a justice of the New York State Supreme Court from 1922 to 1940, when he retired after reaching the constitutional age limit. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law. May died in Brooklyn and was interred in Valhalla Cemetery in Staten Island.