Jacob Aaron Cantor (December 6, 1854 – July 2, 1921) 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 * '' ...

who served as a United States representative from 1913 to 1915.

Early life and education

Cantor was born at 19 Second Street in New York, the son of Henry Cantor and Hannah Cantor, both natives of London. He was a reporter for the '' New York World'' from 1872 to 1877. At the same time, he studied law at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

, graduated in 1875.

Family

On November 2, 1891, his first wife Julia (Lewenthal) Cantor died. On September 25, 1897, he married Lydia Greenbaum, and they had three children: Margaret, Ruth and John.

Career

Cantor was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in New York City.

Early political career

He was a delegate to the

1884 Democratic National Convention The 1884 Democratic National Convention was held July 8–11, 1884 and chose Governor Grover Cleveland of New York their presidential nominee with the former Governor Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana as the vice presidential nominee.World Book Bac ...

. He was 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 ...

(New York Co., 23rd D.) in

1885 Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 – ...

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

and

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

. He 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 ...

from 1888 to 1898, sitting in the 111th through

121st New York State Legislature The 121st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to July 16, 1898, during the second year of Frank S. Black's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provi ...

s (all three 20th D.); and was

President pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

from 1892 to 1893. He was Borough President of Manhattan from 1902 to 1903, elected on the

fusion ticket Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, pooling the votes for that candidate. It is distinct from the process of electoral alliances in that the political parties remain separa ...

headed by Seth Low for

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

, nominated by the anti- Tammany Hall Democrats,

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and the Citizens Union.

Congress

Cantor was elected as 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 ...

to the

63rd United States Congress The 63rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1913, to ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Francis Burton Harrison, and served from November 4, 1913, to March 3, 1915. He unsuccessfully contested the election of

Isaac Siegel Isaac Siegel (April 12, 1880 – June 29, 1947) was a United States Representative from New York (state), New York. Biography He was born in New York City and attended the public schools. Siegel graduated from New York University School of ...

to the 64th United States Congress.

Later career and death

Afterwards he resumed the practice of law in New York City. He was president of the New York City Department of Taxes and Assessments from 1918 until his death.

Personal life

Cantor died at his home at 2345 Broadway, in Manhattan, and was buried at the Mt. Hope Cemetery in

Hastings-on-Hudson, New York Hastings-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County located in the southwestern part of the town of Greenburgh in the state of New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of midtown Manha ...

Sources

Political Graveyard

Obit in NYT on July 3, 1921 (stating wrong years of his majority leadership)

Obit of his first wife, in NYT on November 3, 1891 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantor, Jacob Aaron 1854 births 1921 deaths Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Majority leaders of the New York State Senate Manhattan borough presidents Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly American people of British-Jewish descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)