Thomas Crowell Taylor Crain (May 25, 1860

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 ...

– May 29, 1942) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was

New York County District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ...

from 1930 to 1933.

Biography

Crain was born on May 25, 1860, on 14th Street, near the old

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. He was the son of Dunham Jones Crain who was appointed U.S. Consul in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

in 1877. Thomas Crain accompanied his father to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

but returned in 1881, and began the study of law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1884, and commenced practiced with Cockran & Clarke. Later he became a partner in Kenneson, Crain & Allen. In 1887, he became a member of the Tammany General Committee, representing the 7th Assembly District. In 1889, Mayor Hugh J. Grant appointed him as his private secretary, and in February 1890 as City Chamberlain to succeed

Richard Croker Richard Welstead Croker (November 24, 1843 – April 29, 1922), known as "Boss Croker," was an Irish American political boss who was a leader of New York City's Tammany Hall. His control over the city was cemented with the 1897 election of ...

who had resigned. He remained in office until May 1893, when Mayor Thomas Francis Gilroy appointed Joseph J. O'Donohue to the office. He was Tenement House Commissioner from 1904 to 1905 when he resigned following a dispute with Mayor

George B. McClellan Jr. George Brinton McClellan Jr. (November 23, 1865November 30, 1940), was an American statesman, author, historian, and educator. The son of the American Civil War general and presidential candidate George B. McClellan, he was the 93rd Mayor of Ne ...

in the wake of a fire at 105 Allen Street that killed 18 people, mostly children. Fire officials said windows and fire escapes were blocked. Charges were made that the department had not properly inspected it although Crain said the records showed inspections twice a month. He was the presiding Judge in the 1911 trial of

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory The Brown Building is a ten-story building that is part of the campus of New York University (NYU), which owns it. It is located at 23–29 Washington Place, between Greene Street and Washington Square East in the Greenwich Village neighborhood o ...

owners Max Blanck and Isaac Harris. He was a judge of the Court of General Sessions from 1906 to 1924. In 1914, his wife Agnes (Clarke) Crain died. In 1921, he was elected a sachem of the Tammany Society. In January 1924, he was appointed by Governor Al Smith to the New York Supreme Court (1st D.) to fill the vacancy caused by the election of

Irving Lehman Irving Lehman (January 28, 1876 – September 22, 1945) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1940 until his death in 1945. Biography He was born on January 28, 1876, in New ...

to the New York Court of Appeals. In November 1924, he was elected to succeed himself. In November 1929, he was elected

. He convened a grand jury to look into the

Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 4, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have organized corruption in professional athletic ...

murder and it adjourned saying it could not solve the case. In 1930, he convened a grand jury to investigate job buying Magistrate George F. Ewald. When the jury did not indict, Governor

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

convened a jury and got an indictment. In 1930, he announced a war against rackets which produced few results. Charges were filed against him for general negligence, urging his removal. This was common procedure by Anti-Tammany reformers since the precedent of 1900 when Governor

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 ...

removed D.A. Asa Bird Gardiner. This time the charges were ultimately dismissed by Governor

. After leaving the D.A.'s office at the end of his term in 1933, he became a New York Supreme Court referee. He died on May 29, 1942.

Biography

References

Further reading