George Richard Lunn (June 23, 1873 – November 27, 1948) was an American clergyman and politician from New York. He was the first Socialist mayor in the state of New York, a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from 1917 to 1919, and Lieutenant Governor from 1923 to 1924.

Biography

Early years

George R. Lunn was born June 23, 1873 on a farm located near the small town of Lenox, Taylor County,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

.Allen Eddy, "Biographical Notes," ''New York State Journal'', Dec. 8, 1948. Reprinted in ''George R. Lunn: A Memorial''. Rancho Santa Fe, CA: n.p., 1949; unpaginated p. 10–13 His parents, Martin Adolphus Lunn and the former Martha Bratton, reared 6 surviving children, four boys and two girls, with three others dying in infancy.George Richard Lunn Gardner, ''The Schenectadians: The Story of Schenectady's 20th Century, and Two Men Who Helped Shape it''. Lincoln, NE: Writers Club Press, 2001; pg. 6. The son and grandson of farmers, Lunn was raised in a conservative religious household which strictly observed the Sabbath and regarded the playing of musical instruments in church to be an unacceptable nod to secularity.Gardner, ''The Schenectadians'', pg. 5. The family relocated to the city of Des Moines when George was just a boy, and he quit school at the age of 12 to work there as a

paperboy A paperboy is someoneoften an older child or adolescentwho distributes printed newspapers to homes or offices on a regular route, usually by bicycle or automobile. In Western nations during the heyday of print newspapers during the early 20th ce ...

. At the age of 17 Lunn left home and briefly relocated to Council Bluffs, Iowa.Gardner, ''The Schenectadians'', pg. 7. He then made his way further west to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, where he worked as the driver of a delivery wagon. As a teenager, Lunn decided to enter the Christian ministry and he began three years of preparatory educational work to make up the high school education that he lacked. He was accepted to

Bellevue College Bellevue College (BC) is a public college in Bellevue, Washington, United States. It is the largest of the 34 institutions that make up the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system and the third-largest institution of higher educati ...

in Bellevue, Nebraska, enrolling in the fall of 1892 and graduating in 1897. In 1893 the 20-year old Lunn was approached by the congregation of a small church in La Platte, Nebraska, located five miles south of Bellevue, and was asked to become their pastor.Gardner, ''The Schenectadians'', pg. 8. Although he had never preached before, church parishioners were not aware of this fact and Lunn accepted the position. He would retain the position for several years, paid out of the church's weekly collections. Lunn was anxious to attend the

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...

and in the fall of 1897 he enrolled there.Gardner, ''The Schenectadians'', pg. 10. However, near the end of his first year at Princeton the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

erupted. He returned home to Omaha to take over a Presbyterian pastorate for the summer, where he was convinced to take a position offered him as a chaplain in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, holding the rank of

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

as part of the Company A of the Third Nebraska Regiment. He spent the duration of the brief war stationed in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

.Gardner, ''The Schenectadians'', pg. 11. Following his release from the military, Lunn enrolled at Union Theological Seminary—an institution which he felt was less conservative and constraining than was the Princeton Seminary. He would graduate from Union Theological Seminary in 1901, finally gaining ordination as a Presbyterian minister. Lunn married in May 1901 and upon graduation was called to be the associate pastor of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He would remain there until 1904, at which time he was named the pastor of the First Dutch Reformed Church of

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

—the city with which he would become intimately associated.

Political career

Closely concerned with matters of ethics and poverty, Lunn became a

Christian socialist Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...

, testifying the social gospel from the pulpit. Seeking to eliminate suffering through structural change, Lunn joined the Socialist Party of America and in 1911 he was elected Mayor of Schenectady at the head of the local Socialist ticket. His term was marked by a commitment to expansion of the city's parks and playgrounds, establishment of city health centers, and improvements in the local system of public schools and in garbage collections—the classic range of practical programmatic interests later known as sewer socialism. During his first term of office, Lunn was invited to speak in support of a strike then in progress in the town of

Little Falls, New York Little Falls is a city in Herkimer County, New York. The population was 4,946 at the time of the 2010 census, which is the second-smallest city population in the state, ahead of only the city of Sherrill. The city is built on both sides of the ...

. He accepted the offer but was denied permission to speak by city officials in a public park. Lunn nevertheless attempted to speak, reading from Abraham Lincoln's

Gettysburg Address The Gettysburg Address is a speech that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery, now known as Gettysburg National Cemetery, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on the ...

and wound up as one of four people arrested on charges of "inciting to riot"—charges later dropped when the tension of the situation lessened. Lunn's first term ran from 1911 to 1913 and he was returned to office for a second two-year term in 1915, again on the ticket of the Socialist Party. During his second term of office, Lunn was approached by officials of the Democratic Party and invited to switch parties for a run for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. 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 65th United States Congress, and served from March 4, 1917, to March 3, 1919. In 1920, he was defeated by Harry C. Walker in the Democratic primary for

U.S. Senator from New York Below is a list of U.S. senators who have represented the State of New York in the United States Senate since 1789. The date of the start of the tenure is either the first day of the legislative term (Senators who were elected regularly before th ...

. From 1919 to 1923 he served again as Schenectady's Mayor. He was a Delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, and 1936. Lunn was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1923 to 1924, elected on the Democratic ticket in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...

, but defeated for re-election in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

, even as Democratic

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Alfred E. Smith was winning reelection. The 1924 election was the last in which the Governor and Lieutenant Governor were elected on different tickets. In 1925, Lunn was appointed to the

New York Public Service Commission The New York Public Service Commission is the public utilities commission of the New York state government that regulates and oversees the electric, gas, water, and telecommunication industries in New York as part of the Department of Public Servi ...

, and he served until 1942. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the

United Spanish War Veterans The United Spanish War Veterans was an American veterans' organization which consisted of veterans of the Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War and China Relief Expedition. Origins Soon after the Spanish–American War ended, in earl ...

from 1931 to 1932.

Death and burial

Lunn retired to

Del Mar, California Del Mar (; Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach town in San Diego County, California, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The Del Mar Horse Races are hosted on the ...

, where he died on November 27, 1948. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.Lawrence Kestenbaum (ed.)
"George Richard Lunn,"
Political Graveyard.com Together with his first wife, the former Mabel Healy of Brooklyn, Lunn raised a total of 5 children. Made a widower in 1931, Lunn remarried in 1932, wedding Anita Oliver Jensen of California.

Footnotes

Works

"Testimony to the Special Investigative Committee of the New York State Assembly, Jan. 28, 1920."
Corvallis, OR: 1000 Flowers Publishing, 2012.

External links

George Richard Lunn
a

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lunn, George R. 1873 births 1948 deaths People from Lenox, Iowa People from Del Mar, California Bellevue University alumni Union Theological Seminary (New York City) alumni American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Military personnel from Nebraska American clergy American socialists American Christian socialists Socialist Party of America politicians from New York (state) Lieutenant Governors of New York (state) Mayors of Schenectady, New York Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Presbyterian socialists