New York (State). Governor (1919-1920 : Smith)

Alfred Emanuel Smith was born in New York City on December 30, 1873. He married Catherine (Katie) Dunn on May 6, 1900 and the couple raised a family of five children: Alfred, Jr., Emily, Catherine, Arthur, and Walter. Smith was first elected to public office in 1903, when with the support of the Democratic Tammany Hall organization he claimed a seat in the New York State Assembly. At the outset of the 1911 legislative session, he was named Assembly Majority Leader as well as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Later that year, members of the newly established Factory Investigating Commission, created in the wake of the disastrous Triangle Shirtwaist fire, named him vice chairman. In 1913, house membership elected Smith Speaker of the Assembly, a post that he would hold until he left the legislature following the 1915 session.

After serving as New York County sheriff and President of the Board of Aldermen of Greater New York, Smith made his first successful bid for the governor's office in 1918. Following his first term, he was defeated in his bid for reelection by Nathan Miller. In 1922, Smith in turn defeated Miller to reclaim the governor's office. Smith was reelected governor in both the 1924 and 1926 elections. In 1928, he ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic Party's candidate for president, losing to Herbert Hoover. Smith returned to private life after the conclusion of the 1928 campaign and the completion of his fourth gubernatorial term. He died on October 4, 1944 at the age of seventy.

...