Leonard W. Hall

Leonard Wood Hall (October 2, 1900 – June 2, 1979) was an American lawyer and politician who served seven terms as a United States representative from New York from 1939 to 1952.

Leonard W. Hall
Hall, c. 1944
Chair of the Republican National Committee
In office
April 10, 1953 – February 1, 1957
Preceded byC. Wesley Roberts
Succeeded byMeade Alcorn
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
January 3, 1939 – December 31, 1952
Preceded byRobert L. Bacon
Succeeded bySteven Derounian
Constituency1st district (1939–1945)
2nd district (1945–1952)
Member of the New York Assembly
from Nassau's 2nd district
In office
January 1, 1934 – December 31, 1938
Preceded byEdwin Lynde
Succeeded byNorman Penny
In office
January 1, 1927 – December 31, 1928
Preceded byF. Trubee Davison
Succeeded byEdwin Lynde
Personal details
Born(1900-10-02)October 2, 1900
Oyster Bay, New York, U.S.
DiedJune 2, 1979(1979-06-02) (aged 78)
Glen Cove, New York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Gladys Dowsey
​
(m. 1934)​
Parents
  • Franklyn Herbert Hall (father)
  • Mary Anne Garvin (mother)
Alma materGeorgetown University
Occupation
  • Lawyer
  • politician

Early life and education
Leonard W. Hall (right) with Israel's Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in Jerusalem, 1951

Hall was the son of Franklyn Herbert and Mary Anne (née Garvin) Hall. He was born at Sagamore Hill, the manor house of future President Theodore Roosevelt, near Oyster Bay, New York. Franklyn Hall was Roosevelt's coachman and White House librarian.[1][2]

Hall attended public schools and graduated from the law department of Georgetown University in 1920. He was admitted to the bar in 1922 and commenced practice in New York City.

Family

He married Gladys Dowsey, the daughter of local Republican political leader, on May 10, 1934, in Oyster Bay. She had two children from a previous marriage.[3]

Political career

He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Nassau Co., 2nd D.) in 1927 and 1928; Sheriff of Nassau County from 1929 to 1931; and again a member of the State Assembly in 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937 and 1938. He was a delegate to the 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1968 Republican National Conventions.

Congress

Hall was elected as a Republican to the 76th, 77th, 78th, 79th, 80th, 81st and 82nd United States Congresses, holding office from January 3, 1939, to December 31, 1952, when he resigned to take office as Surrogate of Nassau County. He resigned that office to become Chairman of the Republican National Committee, serving from 1953 to 1957.

Later career

He was President Dwight D. Eisenhower's personal representative at opening of the Brussels World's Fair in April 1958, and resumed the practice of law in Garden City and New York City as senior partner in the firm of Hall Casey Dickler & Brady. Later that year he was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of New York, but withdrew in favor of Nelson Rockefeller, who went on to defeat incumbent W. Averell Harriman in the general election.[4][5][6]

In 1964, after Republican presidential nominee Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona named his friend of nearly three decades, Denison Kitchel, as the national campaign manager, a group of party establishment donors urged Goldwater to replace the inexperienced Kitchel with Hall, but Goldwater stood behind his initial choice.[7]

Death

Hall resided in Locust Valley and in 1979 died in Glen Cove. Interment was in Memorial Cemetery of St. John's Church (Episcopal), Laurel Hollow. Buried along with Hall in Memorial Cemetery are a number of other American celebrities, government officials, and political figures of the 20th century, including Henry L. Stimson, William S. Paley, and Arthur Dove.[8]

References
  1. "Leonard Hall: GOP's old pro". Detroit Free Press. 1979-06-05. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  2. "Mrs. Mary A. Hall, Legislator's Kin". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1939-09-27. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  3. "L. W. Hall marries Dowsey's daughter". Times Union. 1934-05-10. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  4. Hutchings, Harold (June 3, 1958). "Leonard Hall in N.Y. G.O.P. Governor Race". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, IL.
  5. Hutchings, Harold (August 18, 1958). "Hall Quits in N.Y. Governor Race". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, IL.
  6. United Press International (November 5, 1958). "In New York: Rockefeller Wins Over Harriman". The Desert Sun. Palm Springs, CA.
  7. "Denison Kitchel, 94, Chief of Goldwater Campaign, October 20, 2002". The New York Times. 22 October 2002. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
  8. "Welcome to St. John's - St. John's Episcopal Church". www.stjcsh.org. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
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