Benjamin Stanley Rosenthal (June 8, 1923 – January 4, 1983) was an American Democratic Party politician from New York who represented the northern portion of Queens during twelve Congressional terms, from 1962 until his death. Upon his death at age 59, he was the third-most senior Representative in the New York delegation.
Rosenthal was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-seventh United States Congress, filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of Representative Lester Holtzman. Taking office on February 20, 1962, he was re-elected that fall, and then again to ten succeeding Congresses.
Rosenthal was a "regular" or machine Democrat, but held liberal views, opposing the Vietnam War early on and working on consumer protection issues.[2]
On May 17, 1962, Rosenthal read a statement into the Congressional Record praising the magazine Mad on its tenth anniversary.[3] (Rosenthal's district, NY-8, included the part of Manhattan where Mad's offices were.) "Mad Magazine...for the last 10 years has humorously pointed out the laughable foibles of business, labor, advertising, television, sports and entertainment – to say nothing of politics," Rosenthal said.[citation needed]
Death and burial
Rosenthal was re-elected again in 1982, but died from complications of cancer at Georgetown University Hospital on January 4, 1983, just one day after the 98th United States Congress met for the first time. He was sworn in to that Congress from his hospital bed.[2]
^"The Benjamin Rosenthal Collection". Special Collections and Archives, Queens College, City University of New York. archives.qc.cuny.edu. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
