Anthony John Travia (February 26, 1911 – December 7, 1993) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (in case citations, E.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction spans five counties in New York State: the four Long Island counties of Nassau, ...

Education and career

Born in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, Travia received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

from St. John's University School of Law in 1932. He was in private practice of law in New York from 1933 to 1968. He was a Member of the New York State Assembly from 1943 to 1946 and from 1948 to 1968.

State assembly and other political service

On November 2, 1943, he 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 New York State Assembly (Kings Co., 22nd D.), to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James A. Corcoran. He was re-elected in 1944, and remained in the Assembly until 1946, sitting in the 164th and

165th New York State Legislature The 165th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3, 1945, to March 26, 1946, during the third and fourth years of Thomas E. Dewey's governorship, in Albany. Backgro ...

s. Travia was again a member of the State Assembly from 1949 to 1968, sitting in the 167th, 168th, 169th,

170th Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

, 171st, 172nd, 173rd, 174th, 175th, 176th and

177th New York State Legislature The 177th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4, 1967, to May 25, 1968, during the ninth and tenth years of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany. Backgro ...

s; and was Minority Leader from 1959 to 1964, and

Speaker of the New York State Assembly The speaker of the New York State Assembly is the highest official in the New York State Assembly, customarily elected from the ranks of the majority party. As in most countries with a British heritage, the Speaker (politics), speaker presides o ...

from 1965 to 1968. He was President of the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1967.

Notable legislation

Travia is the author of Travia Leave, Law 3107 of the NYS Education Law, which specifies that public employees who are members of a retirement system "…shall upon application be granted a retirement leave with full pay consisting of one half of their accumulated unused sick leave up to a maximum of one semester."

Federal judicial service

Travia was nominated by President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

on April 25, 1968, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Matthew T. Abruzzo. He was confirmed by 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 ...

on June 24, 1968, and received his commission on July 17, 1968. His service was terminated on November 30, 1974, due to his resignation.

Post judicial service and death

Following his resignation from the federal bench, Travia returned to the private practice of law in New York until his death. He died on December 7, 1993, at the

Vassar Brothers Medical Center Vassar Brothers Medical Center (VBMC) (formerly Vassar Brothers Hospital) is a 350-bed not-for-profit hospital overlooking the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie, New York. It is part of the Nuvance Health healthcare network and is the major medical cen ...

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...

, New York.

Personal

In 1935, Travia married Rita A. Sorrentino and they had two sons.