Thomas A. Burke

Template:Short description Template:Other people Template:Infobox officeholder Thomas Aloysius Burke (October 30, 1898Template:Spaced ndashDecember 5, 1971) was an American politician from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 48th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, from 1946 to 1953 and in the United States Senate from November 10, 1953 until December 2, 1954. Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport is named after him.

Early life and education

Burke was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 30, 1898. During World War I, Burke served in the United States Army.<ref>Template:Congbio</ref> In 1920, he graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and in 1923 he graduated from Western Reserve University School of Law.<ref name=Encyclopedia>Template:Cite web</ref>

Early political career

In 1930, Burke became as assistant county prosecutor. In 1937, the Ohio Attorney General, Herbert S. Duffy commissioned an investigation of an election fraud case in Lawrence County, Ohio. Burke was appointed as the special counsel to prosecute the case of six people accused of breaking into the election board and tampering with votes for the county commissioner's race.<ref name=Fraud>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1941, Burke became vice mayor of Cleveland. He was also simultaneously the Director of Law for Cleveland, the city's chief legal advisor.<ref name="NYTobit">Template:Cite web</ref>

Mayoralty

With the election of Mayor Frank Lausche as governor of Ohio in 1944, Burke was first in the line of succession to replace him, and therefore became mayor on January 4, 1945.<ref name=Charter>Template:Cite web</ref> Burke has to stand for re-election in his own right later in 1945, defeating Ray C. Miller with nearly 68% of the vote.<ref name=1945Election>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1947, Burke faced off against Eliot Ness, the former Treasury agent who pursued Al Capone and later became the Cleveland Director of Public Safety. Despite Ness’ fame, Burke won re-election in a second landslide with more than 66% of the vote and a majority of more than 80,000 votes.<ref name=Ness>Template:Cite news</ref> Burke went on to win two more times, in 1949 and 1951.

In 1947, the United States Army Corps of Engineers completed a retaining wall and landfill, the city completed work on a 3,600-foot dirt runway and opened its new downtown airport to air traffic.<ref name=Airport1>Template:Cite news</ref> Burke was credited with improvements at the site over the years and, in 1960, Municipal Airport was renamed Burke Lakefront for the former mayor.<ref name=Airport2>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1953, Burke served as the president of the United States Conference of Mayors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

United States Senate

On October 12, 1953, Governor Frank Lausche appointed Burke to succeed Robert A. Taft, who died of cancer on July 31, 1953, in the United States Senate. Burke took Taft's seat on November 10, after his term as mayor ended.<ref name=Taft>Template:Cite news</ref> Burke ran against George H. Bender in the 1954 special election to serve out the remainder of Taft's term. Burke was defeated by only 7,070 votes and demanded a recount, which narrowed Bender's margin, but did not overturn the results.<ref name=Recount>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Special>Template:Cite news</ref> After his defeat, Burke resumed the practice of law forming the influential Cleveland law firm of Burke, Haber and Berick (now McDonald Hopkins Burke and Haber).

Personal life

Burke was married to Josephine (Lyon) Burke and had two daughters. He died of undisclosed causes on December 5, 1971, at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland, where he'd been admitted the day before.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Cleveland.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

References

• The Encyclopedia Of Cleveland History by Cleveland Bicentennial Commission (Cleveland, Ohio), David D. Van Tassel (Editor), and John J. Grabowski (Editor) Template:ISBN
• Burke Lakefront Airport History: http://www.burkeairport.com/About/History.aspx