William Francis Deegan (December 28, 1882 – April 3, 1932) was an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, organizer of the American Legion, major in the Army Corps of Engineers, and Democratic political leader in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Biography

He was born on December 28, 1882, to Irish immigrants. He studied architecture at Cooper Union and at age 35 served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a staff officer in the 105th Field Artillery. Deegan later joined the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

as a major, where he supervised the construction of military bases in the New York area under the command of

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

George W. Goethals. After the war he helped organize the American Legion in 1919, advancing to State Commander in 1921. In 1922 he was considered a strong candidate to become national commander of the Legion at their convention in New Orleans, but was defeated due to his strong advocacy for admitting Black veterans into the organization. Advocacy for the rights of Black people was a strong theme throughout Deegan's career, including during his position as Tenement House Commissioner. Deegan worked as an architect at a number of distinguished firms, including McKim, Mead & White; Post, Magnicke and Franke; and Starrett and van Vleck. Later in life he held a number of political positions, most of them in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. Deegan was President of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce until the chamber grew critical of Mayor

Jimmy Walker James John Walker (June 19, 1881November 18, 1946), known colloquially as Beau James, was mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932. A flamboyant politician, he was a liberal Democrat and part of the powerful Tammany Hall machine. He was forced t ...

, at which point he resigned. In 1928, Mayor Walker appointed him Tenement House Commissioner of New York City—a post he held for the rest of his life—and in 1930, chairman of the Mayor's Committee on Receptions to Distinguished Guests, or "official greeter", a job in which he was preceded by his friend Rodman Wanamaker and eventually succeeded by Grover Whalen. Major Deegan died of complications following surgery for an appendectomy on April 3, 1932.

Legacy

At the time of his death, a new road was being built from the

Triborough Bridge The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (RFK Bridge; formerly known and still commonly referred to as the Triborough Bridge) is a complex of bridges and elevated expressway viaducts in New York City. The bridges link the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, a ...

to the Grand Concourse. This was renamed and expanded in 1956 into the Major Deegan Expressway section of

I-87 Interstate 87 may refer to either of two unconnected Interstate Highways in the United States: * Interstate 87 (New York), a highway running from New York City north to the Canadian border in Champlain, New York. * Interstate 87 (North Carolina) ...

in the Bronx, which retains his name.

References

1882 births 1932 deaths American people of Irish descent People from the Bronx Cooper Union alumni Chairpersons of the Mayor's Committee on Receptions to Distinguished Guests Commissioners in New York City Greeters {{authority control