John J. Dunnigan (September 6, 1883 – December 1965) was an American

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 ...

, builder and 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 * '' ...

. He was President pro tempore of the New York State Senate from 1933 to 1938.

Life

He was a Democratic member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan comp ...

from 1915 to 1920, sitting in the 138th, 139th, 140th, 141st, 142nd and

143rd New York State Legislature The 143rd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7 to September 1920, during the second year of Al Smith's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provisions ...

s. In 1919 he introduced a state equal rights amendment for women, who had won the vote in New York two years before. The bill would have amended the state labor law as follows:

“Hereafter in this State every avenue of employment shall be open to women, and any business, vocation, profession and calling followed and pursued by men may be followed and pursued by women, and no person shall be disqualified from engaging in any business, vocation, profession, calling or employment on account of sex. Women doing equal work with men in any occupation, trade or industry in this State shall receive the same compensation therefor as men doing work of the same character. The provisions of this section shall supersede any provision of this chapter or other statute inconsistent herewith.”

The bill did not pass. In 1921, he contested the election of Republican George H. Taylor to the State Senate, and was seated on February 15 in the

144th New York State Legislature The 144th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to April 16, 1921, during the first year of Nathan L. Miller's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the prov ...

. He remained in the State Senate until 1944, sitting in the 145th, 146th, 147th, 148th, 149th, 150th, 151st, 152nd, 153rd, 154th, 155th, 156th, 157th, 158th, 159th, 160th, 161st, 162nd, 163rd and

164th New York State Legislature The 164th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6, 1943, to October 30, 1944, during the first and second years of Thomas E. Dewey's governorship, in Albany. Backg ...

s; and was Minority Leader from 1931 to 1932, President pro tempore from 1933 to 1938, and again Minority Leader from 1939 to 1944. He was a delegate to the New York Convention to ratify the 21st Amendment in 1933. He co-authored the

Parimutuel betting Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winnin ...

law which legalized betting on horses at the

racetrack A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

s, and banished the

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookm ...

s from the tracks. It also gave the State a 5% share in the bets. He inaugurated the novelty by buying the first ticket at

Jamaica Race Course Jamaica Race Course, also called the Jamaica Racetrack, was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility operated by the Metropolitan Jockey Club in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. History The track opened on April 27, 1903, a day which fea ...

in April 1940. His son James J. Dunnigan (1912–1983) was President of the Buffalo Raceway in Hamburg, NY from its establishment in 1942 until the 1960s.

References

Sources

Obit in NYT on December 12, 1965 (subscription required)

The inauguration of the new parimutuel betting, in TIME Magazine on April 29, 1940 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunnigan, John J 1883 births 1965 deaths Majority leaders of the New York State Senate Democratic Party New York (state) state senators 20th-century American politicians Politicians from the Bronx