Bernard Tompkins (February 6, 1904 – February 7, 1965) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

He was born on February 6, 1904, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

from 1930 to 1936 and a special assistant to the

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

from 1937 to 1940. In November 1952, Tompkins defeated the incumbent Democratic Senator

Frank D. O'Connor Frank D. O'Connor (December 20, 1909 – December 2, 1992) was an American lawyer and politician from New York (state), New York. Life O'Connor was born on December 20, 1909, in Manhattan, New York City, the son of Irish immigrants. He grew up in ...

in the 6th senatorial district and was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(6th D.) in 1953 and 1954. He was Chairman of a Joint Legislative Committee on Charitable and Philanthropic Agencies and Organizations (the "Tompkins Committee") which investigated fund-raising practices in New York. The findings of the committee led to the enactment of a law that required registration and reporting by fund-raising organizations and individuals. In November 1954, after re-apportionment, Tompkins ran in the 8th district for re-election but was defeated by O'Connor. In November 1955, O'Connor was elected D.A. of Queens County, and a special election for the vacant Senate seat was held on February 7, 1956. Tompkins defeated the Democratic nominee Thomas A. Duffy, and was again a member of the State Senate for the remainder of the session of

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

. In November 1956, Tompkins ran for re-election but was defeated by Duffy. He died on February 7, 1965, while being interviewed by the press on the steps of the NYPD Station House at West 68th Street in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

;''Bernard Tompkins Dead at 61; Lawyer and Ex-State Senator''
in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' on February 8, 1965 (subscription required) and was buried at the Mount Hebron Cemetery in

Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the ...

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tompkins, Bernard 1904 births 1965 deaths Politicians from Queens, New York Republican Party New York (state) state senators Assistant United States Attorneys 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American legislators