Edwin Corning Jr. (September 26, 1919 - January 31, 1964) was an American businessman,

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

officer and Democratic politician from

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

. A member of the prominent

Corning family Corning may refer to: People * Corning (surname) Places In Canada: * Corning, Saskatchewan In the United States of America: * Corning, Arkansas * Corning, California * Corning, Indiana * Corning, Iowa * Corning, Kansas * Corning, Michigan * ...

, he was most notable for his service as a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

from 1955 to 1959.

Biography

Edwin Corning Jr. was born in

on September 26, 1919, the son of

Edwin Corning Edwin Corning (September 30, 1883 – August 7, 1934) was an American businessman and politician from New York. He was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1927 to 1928. Early life Corning was born on September 30, 1883, in Albany, New York. ...

and Louise (Maxwell) Corning. He was educated at

The Albany Academy The Albany Academy is an independent college preparatory day school for boys in Albany, New York, USA, enrolling students from Preschool (age 3) to Grade 12. It was established in 1813 by a charter signed by Mayor Philip Schuyler Van Rensselae ...

and the

Groton School Groton School (founded as Groton School for Boys) is a private college-preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts. Ranked as one of the top five boarding high schools in the United States in Niche (2021–2022), it is affiliated ...

and was a 1942 graduate of

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

. Corning joined the

for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He enlisted in 1942, and received a commission as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

. Corning participated in combat in the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, and attained the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

before receiving his discharge in 1946. In January 1946, Corning's name appeared among a list of Navy officers who were passengers aboard USS '' LST 589'' when it sailed from

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. After the war, Corning returned to Albany, where he became active in the Albany Associates insurance agency, a Corning family business. He became vice president of the company, in addition to serving on its board of directors. He also served as a director of several other companies, including the

Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation was a New York State utility company, which was acquired in 2000 by National Grid plc. The Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation designation was retired, using variations of NationalGridUS (such as National Grid Buffa ...

and Albany's First Trust Company. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, in 1954, Corning was the successful nominee to represent Albany County's first district in the

. He was reelected in 1956 and 1958, and served from January 1955 until resigning in August 1959. In May, 1959, Corning was involved in a car accident on U.S. Route 9 near Boght Corners. He sustained severe injuries and was hospitalized for several months. Citing the amount of time he needed to devote to his recovery, Corning resigned his Assembly seat in order to give officials the opportunity to hold a special election prior to the start of the next session in January 1960, thus ensuring that his district would continue to be represented.

Death and burial

After his car accident, Corning curtailed most of his business and political activities, and was a resident of Clarksville. He died at his home in Clarksville on January 31, 1964, and was buried at

Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Colonie, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical Am ...

Menands, New York Menands is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,990 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Louis Menand. The village lies inside the town of Colonie and borders the northern city line of Albany. H ...

Family

In 1950, Corning married Barbara May Thomson (1923-2012). They were the parents of two children, daughter Jamie and son Edwin. Corning's family was long prominent in Albany-area politics and business. In addition to his father's service as

Lieutenant Governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket wit ...

, Corning's brother

Erastus Corning 2nd Erastus Corning 2nd (October 7, 1909 – May 28, 1983) was an American politician. A Democrat, Corning served as the 72nd mayor of Albany, New York from 1942 to 1983, when Albany County was controlled by one of the last classic urban political ...

was the longtime

mayor of Albany From its formal chartering on 22 July 1686 until 1779, the mayors of Albany, New York, were appointed by the royal governor of New York, per the provisions of the original city charter, issued by Governor Thomas Dongan. From 1779 until 1839, may ...

. His uncle

Parker Corning Parker Corning (January 22, 1874 – May 24, 1943) was an American businessman and politician from Albany, New York. He is most notable for his service as a United States representative from New York from 1923 to 1937. A member of the Alb ...

served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from New York for 14 years. Corning's great-grandfather, Amasa J. Parker served in Congress and enjoyed a long career as a state court judge. Another great-grandfather,

Erastus Corning Erastus Corning (December 14, 1794 – April 9, 1872) was an American businessman and politician from Albany, New York. A Democrat, he was most notable for his service as mayor of Albany from 1834 to 1837, in the New York State Senate from 1842 ...

was a member of Congress and mayor of Albany.

References

Sources

Newspapers

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Internet

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Corning, Edwin Jr. 1919 births 1964 deaths Politicians from Albany, New York The Albany Academy alumni Groton School alumni Yale College alumni 20th-century American naval officers 20th-century American businesspeople Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery 20th-century American legislators Corning family