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American businessman and politician (1883–1934) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edwin Corning (September 30, 1883 – August 7, 1934) was an American businessman and politician from New York. He was the lieutenant governor of New York from 1927 to 1928.
Edwin Corning | |
---|---|
Lieutenant Governor of New York | |
In office January 1, 1927 – December 31, 1928 | |
Governor | Al Smith |
Preceded by | Seymour Lowman |
Succeeded by | Herbert H. Lehman |
New York State Democratic Committee chairman | |
In office January 1926 – August 1928 | |
Preceded by | Herbert C. Pell |
Succeeded by | M. William Bray |
Personal details | |
Born | Albany, New York, US | September 30, 1883
Died | August 7, 1934 50) Bar Harbor, Maine, US | (aged
Political party | Democratic |
Relations | Parker Corning (brother) Erastus Corning (grandfather) Amasa J. Parker (grandfather) |
Children | Erastus Corning 2nd Louise Corning Harriet Corning Edwin Corning Jr. |
Alma mater | Yale University |
Profession | Business executive |
Corning was born on September 30, 1883, in Albany, New York. He was a son of Erastus Corning (1827–1897) and Mary (née Parker) Corning (1845–1899).[1] His brother, Parker Corning served as a member of the United States House of Representatives.[2]
Both of his grandfathers, Erastus Corning and Amasa J. Parker, served in Congress, and Parker was also a justice of the New York Supreme Court and founder of Albany Law School.[3]
He was educated at The Albany Academy and the Groton School,[4] and graduated from Yale University in 1906.[5]
After graduating from Yale, Corning served as an executive at the Ludlum Steel Company in Watervliet, New York, and became its president in 1910.[6] He was also an officer of the Albany Felt Company, and served on the board of directors of several Albany banks. Corning was also a gentleman farmer, and bred prize winning horses, sheep and cows. In addition, he was a dog breeder, and became known for his champion Irish wolfhounds.[7]
In the years immediately after World War I, Corning collaborated with Daniel P. O'Connell to create a Democratic organization in Albany that could wrest control of the city from the Republican organization run by William Barnes Jr.; their strategy was to run wealthy non-ethnic Protestants like Edwin Corning, William Stormont Hackett, Parker Corning, and Erastus Corning 2nd for major offices including mayor and Congressman to enhance the respectability and credibility of a Democratic organization run by working class Irish-American, Catholic figures like O'Connell.[8] Corning became chairman of the Albany County Democratic Committee in 1912 and chairman of the county committee's executive committee in 1919. In the 1921 contest for mayor, the O'Connell/Corning organization succeeded in electing Hackett, the beginning of Democratic control of city hall that has remained in place ever since.[7]
Corning was chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee from 1926 to 1928.[9] He was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1927 to 1928, elected on the Democratic ticket with Governor Alfred E. Smith in 1926.[10] In 1928, when Smith planned to run for president, the Albany Democratic organization intended to run Hackett for governor. After Hackett's death in a car accident, Corning considered making the campaign, but declined because of ill health. After his term as lieutenant governor he retired from his business and political interests.[11]
On November 25, 1908, he married Louise Maxwell,[12] who was born to American parents in Cawnpore, India, where her father was serving as a missionary. Together, Louise and Edwin were the parents of:[13]
He died on a hospital operating table in Bar Harbor, Maine, during a second leg amputation, which was necessary because of gangrene derived from diabetes.[7] He was buried at the Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York.[23]
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