William Ballard Hoyt II (June 20, 1937 – March 25, 1992) was an American 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 * '' ...

Early life

He was born on June 20, 1937, the son of Capt. John Davidson Hill Hoyt (1898–1943), who served with the 307th Bomb Group,

372d Bombardment Squadron The 372nd Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 307th Bombardment Wing at Lincoln Air Force Base, Nebraska, where it was inactivated on 25 March 1965. History World War II Formed ...

and was killed in a crash off the coast of

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

. His paternal grandparents were William B. Hoyt, an executive with the

Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive Luxury vehicle, luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow ...

, and Esther Lapham (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Hill) Hoyt. His aunt, Esther Hoyt, was the wife of Ansley Wilcox Sawyer, a nephew of

Ansley Wilcox Ansley Wilcox (January 27, 1856 – January 26, 1930) was an American scholar, Oxford graduate, prominent lawyer, civil service reform commissioner, New York political insider and friend of Theodore Roosevelt. After the assassination of Will ...

(a friend of

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

whose home on Delaware Avenue was the site of Roosevelt's

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugu ...

following the

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

of President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

). Hoyt was educated at

The Park School of Buffalo The Park School of Buffalo is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school located in Amherst, New York (north of Buffalo). Founded in 1912 during the American country day school movement, the institution features lower, middle, and ...

before attending

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

in Clinton, New York.

Career

After his graduation from Hamilton, Hoyt taught history for 11 years at his alma mater, the Park School, before entering politics. Hoyt entered politics 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 ...

, and was a member of the Buffalo Common Council from 1970 to 1974. 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 ...

from 1975 until his death in 1992, sitting in the 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th and

189th New York State Legislature The 189th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 9, 1991, to December 31, 1992, during the ninth and tenth years of Mario Cuomo's governorship, in Albany. Backgroun ...

s. In 1989, he ran on the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

line for Buffalo Mayor, but was defeated by incumbent

James D. Griffin James Donald "Jimmy" Griffin (June 29, 1929 – May 25, 2008) was an American politician who served in the New York State Senate (56th District, 1967–77) and then for 16 years as the Mayor of Buffalo, New York (1978–93). He later returned t ...

, who had defeated him in the Democratic primary.

Personal life

Hoyt was married twice, secondly to Susan Curran. From his first marriage, he was the father of four children, including William "Sam" Ballard Hoyt III (b. 1962), who also served in the New York State Assembly. In 2011, Governor

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...

appointed Sam to serve as a regional vice president of the state's economic development agency. On March 25, 1992, he suffered 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 ...

during a debate in the Assembly, and died soon after in

Albany Medical Center Albany Medical Center (AMC) is the name of the umbrella organization over the Albany Medical Center Hospital and Albany Medical College in Albany, New York. Though the name Albany Medical Center referring to the two institutions on their shared c ...

. He was 54 years old.

Legacy

Hoyt Lake in Delaware Park in Buffalo is named after Hoyt.Tom Buckingham (July 11, 2008)
"Grant to fix, enhance Hoyt Lake landscape"
''The Buffalo News''.
City of Buffalo.

References

External links

''Name a Street After Yourself, Then Later They'll Name a Lake After Your Grandson''
at ''Discovering Buffalo, One Street at a Time'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoyt, William B. 1937 births 1992 deaths Hamilton College (New York) alumni Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Buffalo, New York 20th-century American politicians