View source for Anthony J. Celebrezze

{{Short description|American judge (1910–1998)}}
{{for|the former Democratic leader of the Ohio Senate|Anthony O. Calabrese}}
{{Infobox judge
| honorific-prefix =
| name          = Anthony J. Celebrezze
| honorific-suffix =
| image         = Celebrez.jpg
| alt           =
| caption       =
| office        = [[Senior status|Senior Judge]] of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit]]
| term_start    = October 1, 1980
| term_end      = October 29, 1998
| office1       = Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit]]
| term_start1   = August 19, 1965
| term_end1     = October 1, 1980
| nominator1    =
| appointer1    = [[List of federal judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson|Lyndon B. Johnson]]
| predecessor1  = [[Lester LeFevre Cecil]]
| successor1    = [[Leroy John Contie Jr.]]
| office2       = 5th [[United States Secretary of Health and Human Services|United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare]]
| term_start2   = July 31, 1962
| term_end2     = August 17, 1965
| president2    = [[John F. Kennedy]]<br>[[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
| predecessor2  = [[Abraham Ribicoff]]
| successor2    = [[John W. Gardner]]
| office3       = 49th [[Mayor of Cleveland]]
| term_start3   = January 1, 1954
| term_end3     = December 31, 1961
| predecessor3  = [[Thomas A. Burke]]
| successor3    = [[Ralph S. Locher]]
| office4       = 19th [[President of the United States Conference of Mayors]]
| term4   = 1962
| predecessor4  = [[W. Haydon Burns]]
| successor4    = [[Richard C. Lee]]
| office5       = 31st [[President of the National League of Cities]]
| term5   = 1959
| predecessor5  = [[George Christopher (mayor)|George Christopher]]
| successor5    = [[Raymond Tucker]]
| pronunciation =
| office6       = Member of the [[Ohio State Senate]]
| term6         = 1951-1953
| predecessor6  = [[Howard Metzenbaum]]
| birth_name    = Antonio Giuseppe Cilibrizzi
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1910|09|04}}
| birth_place   = [[Anzi, Basilicata]], [[Kingdom of Italy]]
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1998|10|29|1910|09|04}}
| death_place   = [[Cleveland, Ohio]], U.S.
| resting_place_coordinates =
| party         = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| children      = [[Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr.]]
| education     = [[Claude W. Pettit College of Law]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
<!--Embedded templates / Footnotes-->
| footnotes     =
}}
'''Anthony Joseph Celebrezze Sr.''' (born '''Antonio Giuseppe Cilibrizzi''', {{IPA|it|anˈtɔːnjo dʒuˈzɛppe tʃiliˈbrittsi|lang}}; September 4, 1910 – October 29, 1998) was an American politician of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], who served as the 49th [[Mayor of Cleveland|mayor]] of [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], as a cabinet member in the [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]] administrations, and as a [[United States federal judge|United States circuit judge]] of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit]].

==Early life and education==

Celebrezze was born in 1910 as one of thirteen children to Dorothy ([[married and maiden names|née]] Marcogiuseppe) and Rocco Cilibrizzi in [[Anzi, Italy|Anzi]], a town in the administrative region of [[Basilicata]], southern [[Italy]]. The family moved to the United States when he was two years old, and the [[surname]] was [[Americanization|Americanized]] in spelling to "Celebrezze."<ref name="SixthCir">[http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/lib_hist/Courts/circuit/judges/celebreeze/ajc-bio.html History of the Sixth Circuit] Accessed December 31, 2009 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827071300/http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/lib_hist/Courts/circuit/judges/celebreeze/ajc-bio.html |date=August 27, 2009 }}</ref> {{IPAc-en|s|ɛ|l|ə|ˈ|b|r|iː|z|i}}. After having been a shepherd in Anzi, the father Rocco took an industrial job, becoming a track [[laborer]] for the [[Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway (1916–1988)|Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad]] in [[Cleveland]].

Like many of his immigrant generation, Anthony Celebrezze took odd jobs as a youngster, shining shoes and selling newspapers. He attended [[Cleveland Public Schools]], graduating from [[Cleveland Metropolitan School District|Central High School]]<ref name="SixthCir"/> and Fenn College (later developed as [[Cleveland State University]]).<ref name="ONU1">[http://www.law.onu.edu/about/celebrezze.html Ohio Northern University] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080927224532/http://www.law.onu.edu/about/celebrezze.html |date=2008-09-27 }} Accessed December 30, 2009</ref>

He graduated from [[John Carroll University]] in 1934.<ref name="JCUAward">[http://www.jcu.edu/Alumni/past_recipients.htm John Carroll University] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414002231/http://www.jcu.edu/Alumni/past_recipients.htm |date=April 14, 2010 }} Accessed December 30, 2009</ref> During his college years, he earned his way by working as a railroad laborer and freight truck driver, as well as [[Boxing|boxer]].<ref name="SixthCir"/> He later attended [[Ohio Northern University]] in [[Ada, Ohio|Ada]], Ohio, where he received a [[Bachelor of Laws]] in 1936 from the [[Claude W. Pettit College of Law]] (then known as the Warren G. Harding College of Law).<ref name="auto">{{FJC Bio|407|nid=1378991|name=Anthony Joseph Celebrezze<!--(1910–1998)-->}}</ref>

==Marriage, World War II, and career==
Celebrezze began working for the Ohio Unemployment Commission in [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]], Ohio. In 1938, he passed the bar and returned to Cleveland, where he entered the general practice of law.<ref name="SixthCir"/> That same year, he married Anne M. Marco, a graduate of [[Western Reserve University]] and a teacher in the Cleveland Public School system, on May 7, 1938.<ref name="SixthCir"/> With the onset of [[World War II]], Celebrezze enlisted in the [[United States Navy]]. Upon his discharge at the end of the war, he returned to private practice.<ref name="auto"/>

==Political career==

In 1950, Celebrezze ran for a seat in the [[Ohio State Senate]], vacated by [[Howard Metzenbaum]], and won. He served as an Ohio state senator from 1951 to 1953. One of the few Democrats to serve in the Senate at the time, Celebrezze cultivated a friendly relationship with the Republican majority. Governor [[Frank J. Lausche]], a Democrat and former mayor of Cleveland, did not have a good relationship with the Democratic leadership in the Senate. Lausche thus relied heavily on Celebrezze to represent his interests in the Senate.

In 1952, when Celebrezze sought re-election to the state senate, he ran into trouble when he crossed the Democratic party chairman, [[Ray T. Miller]], by supporting fellow [[Italian American]] [[Michael DiSalle]] for the [[United States Senate]] instead of [[James M. Carney]]. Celebrezze was renominated by his party and won the general election. Six years later in his gubernatorial campaign, he ran against DiSalle.

===Mayor of Cleveland===

In 1952, after continuing battles with the Democratic leadership in the Senate, Celebrezze resigned to run for [[Mayor of Cleveland]]. The office was open because sitting mayor [[Thomas A. Burke]] had decided not to seek another term. The Democratic party organization chose Albert S. Porter, Engineer of [[Cuyahoga County, Ohio|Cuyahoga County]], to succeed Burke. Although lacking support from Party Chairman Miller, Celebrezze had the backing of Governor Lausche. Mayor Burke did not favor either candidate.

In the open primary among Porter, Celebrezze, and Republican juvenile court Judge William J. McDermott, Celebrezze won a decisive victory, having a substantial lead over McDermott. Porter came in third. In the general election, Celebrezze again defeated Republican McDermott. He was endorsed by the ''[[Cleveland Press]]'' editor [[Louis B. Seltzer]].

After that, Celebrezze was elected for an unprecedented five two-year terms as mayor, serving from 1953 to 1962.<ref name="SixthCir"/> At the time, Cleveland was the fifth-largest city in the nation. Celebrezze drove efforts to build or upgrade the city's infrastructure, and conducted a massive $140 million urban-renewal program.<ref name="CWRU1">{{cite web|url=http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=MAOAJC|title=MAYORAL ADMINISTRATION OF ANTHONY J. CELEBREZZE - Encyclopedia of Cleveland History - Case Western Reserve University|website=Encyclopedia of Cleveland History - Case Western Reserve University|date=11 May 2018 }}</ref> Major portions of the [[RTA Rapid Transit|rapid-transit system]] were constructed during this time, most notably the [[Red Line (Cleveland)|Red Line]], which connected much of the city to the existing [[Blue Line (Cleveland)|Blue]] and [[Green Line (Cleveland)|Green]] lines. There was also extensive work done on the city's freeway system, the [[Port of Cleveland]], and [[Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport|Burke Lakefront Airport]].

In 1958 Celebrezze was elected president of the American Municipal Association (now the [[National League of Cities]]) in 1958.<ref name="ONU1"/> That same year, he sought the Democratic nomination for [[Governor of Ohio]], but lost to [[Michael DiSalle]]. In 1960, he launched the Erieview urban renewal plan, designed by architect [[I. M. Pei]]. The most prominent result of the plan was the [[Erieview Tower]]. He also spurred several building projects, most notably a [[Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building|federal office building]] (which was later named after him after his death), and the Garden Valley housing project.<ref name="CWRU1" />

In 1962, Celebrezze served as president of the [[United States Conference of Mayors]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usmayors.org/the-conference/leadership/ |title=Leadership |date=November 23, 2016 |access-date=July 24, 2020 |publisher=The United States Conference of Mayors}}</ref>

In 1961, after years of denying rumors that he sought a higher public office, Celebrezze was offered a federal judgeship by President [[John F. Kennedy]], which was a lifetime appointment to a federal judgeship. Celebrezze turned it down to run for a record-breaking fifth consecutive term as mayor, which he won by an unprecedented 73.8 percent, sweeping every one of the city's thirty-three wards.<ref name="SixthCir"/> Kennedy appointed him also to serve on the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity and the Commission on the Status of Women. In 1962, Celebrezze was selected as the president of the United States Conference of Mayors.<ref name="ONU1"/>

===Cabinet Secretary===
[[File:Ajc-bio cele3.jpg|right|thumb|170px|Celebrezze and [[John F. Kennedy]]]]
In 1962, President Kennedy returned to Celebrezze with an offer of a cabinet appointment as [[United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare]] (now the Department of Health and Human Services). Celebrezze resigned as mayor in 1962 before his appointment on July 31, 1962.<ref name="HHS">{{cite web|url=https://www.hhs.gov/about/hhshist.html#Secretaries|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970123214619/http://www.hhs.gov/about/hhshist.html#Secretaries|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 23, 1997|title=HHS Historical Highlights|first=Digital Communications Division (DCD), Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs|last=(ASPA)|date=19 June 2006}}</ref> He continued his service under President [[Lyndon Johnson]] following Kennedy's assassination in November 1963.

During this time, Celebrezze contributed to the enactment of landmark social legislation, most notably the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and [[Social Security Act of 1965]]. One of Celebrezze's most important achievements as secretary of HEW was separating the public assistance and child health and welfare functions from the [[Social Security Administration]], and transferring these programs to a new Welfare Administration. Celebrezze shaped HEW to fit Johnson's initiatives, including getting power from Congress to deny funds for any federal HEW program to any state or institution that practiced racial segregation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/kennedy/essays/cabinet/347 |title=American President: Anthony J. Celebrezze (1962 - 1963) |access-date=2009-12-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309150733/http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/kennedy/essays/cabinet/347 |archive-date=2010-03-09 }}</ref>

Celebrezze found it difficult to maintain two households on his $25,000 salary and apart from his family,<ref name="SixthCir"/> and asked Johnson to return to Cleveland. "We are going to lose the house in Cleveland if I continue to live here, Mr. President," Celebrezze told Johnson. The President replied that Celebrezze was too honest for Washington because he was the first cabinet secretary "to go broke while working for the White House." Celebrezze resigned as HEW Secretary on August 17, 1965.<ref name="HHS"/>

==Federal judicial service==
[[File:Ajc-bio cele5.jpg|thumb|Celebrezze in his old age]]
Celebrezze was nominated by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] on July 27, 1965, to a seat on the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit]], which had been vacated by Judge [[Lester Lefevre Cecil]]. He was confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on August 19, 1965, and received his commission on August 19, 1965. After more than fifteen years of service, Celebrezze assumed [[senior status]] on October 1, 1980. His service terminated on October 29, 1998, due to his death.<ref name="auto"/>

===Notable cases===

Celebrezze authored numerous opinions, including ''Beasley v. United States'', which established a fair and progressive standard of "effective assistance of counsel" under the [[Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution|sixth amendment]], ''Hill v. Tennessee Valley Authority'', ''Gabriele v. Chrysler Corp.'', and ''Krause v. Rhodes''.<ref name="SixthCir"/>

==Death==

In the last three years of his life, Celebrezze was mostly inactive on the court, and spent most of his time organizing his personal papers. In the summer of 1998, he became easily fatigued, and advanced [[Head and neck cancer|throat cancer]] was diagnosed about September. He was hospitalized briefly at Lakewood Hospital and at the Cleveland Clinic before transferring to the Corinthian Skilled Nursing Center in Cleveland about October 22, 1998. He died there on October 29, 1998.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McCarty |first=James F. |date=October 31, 1998 |title=Celebrezze, Former Mayor of Cleveland, Dies at 88 |work=The Plain Dealer |page=A1}}</ref> His funeral was held at the [[Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist (Cleveland, Ohio)|Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist]] in Cleveland, and he was buried at {{ill|Holy Cross Cemetery (Brook Park, Ohio)|qid=Q99522956|lt=Holy Cross Cemetery}} in [[Brook Park, Ohio|Brook Park]], Ohio.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McCarty |first=James F. |date=November 3, 1998 |title=Full Honors for Celebrezze |work=The Plain Dealer |page=B1}}</ref>

==Celebrezze political family==

Celebrezze and his wife Anne had three children: [[Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr.]], Jean Ann (Celebrezze) Porto, and Susan Marie (Celebrezze) Sullivan. Anthony Jr. became an attorney and served as [[Ohio Attorney General]]; he also ran for governor. The pair are the only father and son to both run as candidates for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Ohio. His grandson Anthony J. Celebrezze III (son of Anthony Jr.), also ran for public office.

Celebrezze's older brother [[Frank D. Celebrezze I]] (b. 1899) also became an attorney and was active in civic service. He served as Cleveland Safety Director and later was appointed as a Cleveland Municipal Court judge. His descendants also became attorneys and active politically. [[Frank Celebrezze]] became Ohio Chief Justice, and [[James Celebrezze]] became an Ohio Supreme Court Judge. [[Frank D. Celebrezze Jr.]] (grandson to the first Frank) became an Ohio Appeals Court Judge, and Leslie Ann Celebrezze became Domestic Relations Judge of Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.

==Legacy==
[[Image:Ajcelebrezzefireboat.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''Anthony J. Celebrezze'' fireboat on the Cuyahoga River]]
*In 1964, Celebrezze received the Alumni Medal from his alma mater, John Carroll University.<ref name="JCUAward" /> In 1978, JCU conferred him an honorary [[Doctor of Laws]] degree.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jcu.edu/ir/pdfs0607/honorarydegrees.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-12-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530101236/http://www.jcu.edu/ir/pdfs0607/honorarydegrees.pdf |archive-date=2010-05-30 }}</ref> He also had honorary degrees from Fenn College, Boston College, LaSalle College, Ohio Northern University, Rhode Island College, Bowling Green State University, Wilberforce University, Miami University (Ohio) and Cleveland State University.<ref name="SixthCir"/>
*The [[Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building|federal building]] in Cleveland is named after Celebrezze, as well as an archives room at [[Ohio Northern University]] law school (Ada, Ohio). Additionally, a Cleveland Fire Department fireboat was named after Celebrezze.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iafflocal93.org/Stations%20Page/station%2021.html|title=Station 21 "Tremont/Fireboat"}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of foreign-born United States Cabinet members]]
* [[Ohio gubernatorial elections]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{FJC Bio|407|nid=1378991|name=Anthony Joseph Celebrezze<!--(1910–1998)-->}}
* {{Find a Grave|6257422|Anthony Celebrezze|work=Presidential Cabinet Secretary, Cleveland Mayor|date=March 13, 2002|access-date=March 20, 2013}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Thomas A. Burke]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Mayor of Cleveland]]|years=1954–1961}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ralph S. Locher]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[George Christopher (mayor)|George Christopher]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the [[National League of Cities]]|years=1959}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Raymond Tucker]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[W. Haydon Burns]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the [[United States Conference of Mayors]]|years=1962}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Richard C. Lee]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Abraham A. Ribicoff]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States Secretary of Health and Human Services|United States Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare]]|years=1962–1965}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John W. Gardner]]}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Lester LeFevre Cecil]]}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit]]}}|years=1965–1980}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Leroy John Contie Jr.]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{USSecHEW}}
{{Kennedy cabinet}}
{{LBJohnson cabinet}}
{{Mayors of Cleveland}}
{{United States Conference of Mayors Presidents}}
{{National League of Cities presidents}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Celebrezze, Anthony J.}}
[[Category:1910 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century mayors of places in Ohio]]
[[Category:Celebrezze family|Anthony J.]]
[[Category:Claude W. Pettit College of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Cleveland State University alumni]]
[[Category:Italian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Italian-American culture in Cleveland]]
[[Category:John Carroll University alumni]]
[[Category:Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit]]
[[Category:Kennedy administration cabinet members]]
[[Category:Lyndon B. Johnson administration cabinet members]]
[[Category:Mayors of Cleveland]]
[[Category:Ohio state senators]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Cleveland]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Cleveland]]
[[Category:People from the Province of Potenza]]
[[Category:United States court of appeals judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson]]
[[Category:United States secretaries of health, education, and welfare]]
[[Category:Presidents of the United States Conference of Mayors]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly]]
[[Category:Presidents of the National League of Cities]]