Richard Charles Lee (March 12, 1916 – February 2, 2003) (sometimes called "Mr. Urban America") was an American politician who served as the

Mayor of New Haven This is a list of the Mayors of New Haven, Connecticut. Before 1826, the city's mayors did not have a fixed term of office; once elected, they held office indefinitely, at the pleasure of the Connecticut General Assembly. Beginning in 1826 the ma ...

from 1954 until 1970. He was 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 ...

, and was the youngest mayor of the city had ever had at the time he entered office in 1954 at the age of 37. Lee is best known for his leading role in urban redevelopment in the 1950s and 1960s.

Early life

Richard Charles Lee was born on March 12, 1916. He grew up in a cold-water apartment in the working-class Newhallville neighborhood of New Haven. His father, Frederick, worked at the

Winchester Repeating Arms Company The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American manufacturer of repeating firearms and ammunition. The firm was established in 1866 by Oliver Winchester and was located in New Haven, Connecticut. The firm went into receivership ...

. He graduated from

Hillhouse High School James Hillhouse High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in New Haven, Connecticut. It serves grades 9–12. James Hillhouse High School is the oldest public high school in New Haven, and is part of the New Haven Public Scho ...

in 1934.

Career

After being defeated for mayor in 1949 and 1951, he won in 1953. Lee appointed the city's first black corporation counsel, George Williamson Crawford, in 1954. During his first re-election campaign in 1957,

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

, then a member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, traveled to New Haven to campaign for him. To shore up New Haven's large

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

electorate, the mayor brought in

Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955, and held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956. He is the only ...

, the boxer. He won that election by a 2-to-1 margin. Lee went on to serve 16 years as mayor, second-longest of New Haven's mayors at the time. In 2003, he died at the age of 86. In 1962 and 1963, Lee served as the president of the

United States Conference of Mayors The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. The cities are each represented by their mayors or other chief elected officials. The organization was founded i ...

Legacy

On May 17, 1999, Congresswoman

Rosa DeLauro Rosa Luisa DeLauro (; born March 2, 1943) is an American politician who has been the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. The dist ...

( D- CT) dedicated the

Richard C. Lee United States Courthouse The Richard C. Lee United States Courthouse is a monumental courthouse of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, located on the east side of the New Haven Green. Built between 1913 and 1919, the structure was spared from ...

in downtown New Haven to Lee. DeLauro worked with Senators

Christopher Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's history. ...

and

Joseph Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; born February 24, 1942) is an American politician, lobbyist, and attorney who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee for Vi ...

to rename the federal building, which stands at 141 Church Street. The Richard C. Lee Highway, a freeway in downtown New Haven, is also named in his honor. A former New Haven public

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, carried the name Richard C. Lee High School in his honor; it has been replaced by Career Magnet High School.Charlotte Libov
Schools Trying to Desegregate On Their Own
''

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 ...

'', August 28, 1988 (states that "Career High School, formerly the Richard C. Lee High School, is in Wooster Place and specializes in health fields, business and computers" and describes plans to replace it with a regional magnet school). The Richard C. Lee High School building became the

Yale School of Nursing Yale School of Nursing (YSN) is the nursing school of Yale University, located in West Haven, Connecticut. It is among the top 20 graduate schools in the country, according to the latest rankings by U.S. News & World Report (2017). In addition to ...

and now houses a variety of

Yale Medical School The Yale School of Medicine is the graduate medical school at Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. The primary te ...

offices.

References

;General *

Paul Von Zielbauer Paul von Zielbauer is a journalist, writer, and social entrepreneur and public speaker. In 2008, he foundeRoadmonkey Adventure Philanthropy a for-profit social venture that combines challenging outdoor adventures with sustainable, hands-on voluntee ...

Richard C. Lee, 86, Mayor Who Revitalized New Haven
''

'', February 4, 2003 ;Notes

External links

* Richard Charles Lee papers (MS 318). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Librar

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Richard C. 1916 births 2003 deaths Mayors of New Haven, Connecticut 20th-century American politicians Connecticut Democrats People from New Haven, Connecticut Presidents of the United States Conference of Mayors