Leonard W. Hall

Leonard W. Hall
Leonard W. Hall
	Hall, c. 1944
Chair of the Republican National Committee
	In office; April 10, 1953 – February 1, 1957
Preceded by	C. Wesley Roberts
Succeeded by	Meade Alcorn
Member of the; U.S. House of Representatives; from New York
	In office; January 3, 1939 – December 31, 1952
Preceded by	Robert L. Bacon
Succeeded by	Steven Derounian
Constituency	1st 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 by	Edwin Lynde
Succeeded by	Norman Penny
	In office; January 1, 1927 – December 31, 1928
Preceded by	F. Trubee Davison
Succeeded by	Edwin Lynde
Personal details
Born	October 2, 1900; Oyster Bay, New York, U.S.
Died	June 2, 1979 (aged 78); Glen Cove, New York, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Gladys Dowsey (m. 1934)
Parents	Franklyn Herbert Hall (father); Mary Anne Garvin (mother);
Alma mater	Georgetown University
Occupation	Lawyer; politician;

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.

Early life and education

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

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

External links

United States Congress. "Leonard W. Hall (id: H000060)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Leonard W. Hall at Find a Grave
The Political Graveyard
Records of the Office of the Chairman of the Republican National Committee (Leonard W. Hall), Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
A film clip "Longines Chronoscope with Leonard Hall" is available for viewing at the Internet Archive

New York State Assembly
Preceded by F. Trubee Davison	Member of the New York Assembly from Nassau's 2nd district 1927–1928	Succeeded by Edwin Lynde
Preceded by Edwin Lynde	Member of the New York Assembly from Nassau's 2nd district 1934–1938	Succeeded by Norman Penny
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Robert L. Bacon	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 1st congressional district 1939–1945	Succeeded by Edgar A. Sharp
Preceded by William Barry	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 2nd congressional district 1945–1952	Succeeded by Steven Derounian
Party political offices
Preceded by C. Wesley Roberts	Chair of the Republican National Committee 1953–1957	Succeeded by Meade Alcorn