Major
W. Arthur Cunningham
New York City Comptroller
In office
January 1, 1934 – May 5, 1934
Preceded byGeorge McAneny
Succeeded byJoseph McGoldrick
Personal details
Born1894
Manhattan, New York City, New York
DiedMay 5, 1934 (aged 39
Asharoken, Long Island, New York
Cause of deathHeart attack
Resting placeCalvary Cemetery
Political partyindependent Democrat
Residence(s)Forest Hills, Queens, New York City
Alma materFordham Law School
Occupationlawyer, businessman
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Army
RankMajor
Unit165th Infantry Brigade
Battles/warsWorld War I
AwardsCroix de Guerre
MemorialsCunningham Park

W. Arthur Cunningham (1894 – May 5, 1934) was an American lawyer who served in the United States Army during World War I and rose to the rank of major. He received the Croix de Guerre and became a banking executive before taking office as New York City Comptroller for five months in 1934.

Biography

Cunningham was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Irish parents.[1][2] He grew up in Brooklyn, and attended St. James's Academy, graduating in 1910.[3] He received an L.L.B. degree from Fordham Law School in 1915, and was admitted to the bar the following year.[4]

Cunningham served in World War I as a Major of the 69th and later 165th Infantry Brigade of the United States Army in the American Expeditionary Forces[2][5][6] It was part of the 42nd, or Rainbow Division.[7] He fought the Germans in Lunéville, France, and in the Meuse–Argonne offensive.[8] He received the Croix de Guerre with Palm for conspicuous bravery and the Purple Heart decoration for military merit.[8][9][10][11]

He was later an officer of the Textile Banking Corporation, first as counsel and later as vice president until 1933.[12] He and his wife, the former Agnes Evelyn Quinn whom he married in 1927, and their two sons were residents of Forest Hills, Queens.[13][14]

Cunningham, an independent Democrat, successfully ran for the position of New York City Comptroller in 1933 on Mayor LaGuardia's Fusion ticket.[15][16][17][18] In his campaign he pledged to keep the 5-cent ($1.13 in current dollar terms) fare if feasible.[19] A soldier, businessman, and lawyer without any previous experience in politics.[7][4] After being sworn into office, Cunningham found the city deeply in debt.[20][21]

Cunningham died of a heart attack four months after taking office while riding a horse in Asharoken, Long Island with Raymond C. Ingersoll, son of Brooklyn Borough President Raymond V. Ingersoll, on May 5, 1934.[4][13] He was 39 years old.[13] Mayor LaGuardia ordered that flags be at half mast for ten days as a tribute to Cunningham.[13]

His body was buried in Calvary Cemetery near Long Island City.[6] Queens Borough President George U. Harvey, a friend, thought that Cunningham's death was caused in part by his worries about the city's problems.[22]

References

  1. ↑ The Irish Law Times and Solicitors' Journal, Volume 68, June 2, 1934.
  2. 1 2 Weer, William (May 6, 1934). "Cunningham Was World War Hero Before He Took Up City Financing And Bravery Earned Him Title of Major Soldier, Business Man and Banker Became Candidate for Controller on LaGuardia's Insistence Was Hard Worker and Very Popular". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Page 3". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. January 15, 1939.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Financial Situation". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. St. Louis Fed. May 12, 1934.
  5. ↑ "17 More War Crosses Awarded Americans; Six Officers of the Luneville Sector Among Those Decorated for Bravery". The New York Times. March 20, 1918. p. 2.
  6. 1 2 "Military Funeral for Cunningham; Controller's Body to Be Borne to St. Patrick's Cathedral by 165th Regiment Tomorrow. GOVERNOR SENDS TRIBUTE Mayor and other Officials Pay Homage at the Home of City's Fiscal Officer". The New York Times. May 7, 1934. p. 17.
  7. 1 2 Bulletin, Volume 25, General Contractors Association of New York, 1934, page 95.
  8. 1 2 The New York National Guardsman, June 1934, page 6.
  9. ↑ Yearbook, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 1934.
  10. ↑ Thomas Kessner (1991). Fiorello H. La Guardia and the Making of Modern New York, Penguin Books, page 245.
  11. ↑ The New York National Guardsman, March 1934.
  12. ↑ Charles Garrett (1961). The La Guardia Years; Machine and Reform Politics in New York City, Rutgers University Press, page 103.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Cunningham Dies; Fusion's Control In City Menaced; City Controller Was 39". The New York Times. May 6, 1934. p. 1.
  14. ↑ "Controller Cunningham Killed by Heart Stroke". Daily News. May 6, 1934. p. 135.
  15. ↑ Arthur Mann (1969). La Guardia Comes to Power, 1933, University of Chicago Press, p. 92.
  16. ↑ "Rival City Tickets for Fall Campaign". The New York Times. August 17, 1933. p. 3.
  17. ↑ "Nominations Are Filed; Fusion Group and Seven Minor Parties List Candidates". The New York Times. October 5, 1933. p. 8.
  18. ↑ Hagerty, James A. (November 8, 1933). "M'Kee Runs Second; Loses Even Bronx Smashing Blow To Farley". The New York Times. p. 1.
  19. ↑ "CUNNINGHAM IS BACK, READY FOR NEW POST; Controller-Elect Returns With Wife After Rest in Europe -- To Confer With McAneny". The New York Times. December 8, 1933.
  20. ↑ "City Cannot Pay $15,600,000 Debts, Cunningham Says". The New York Times. February 5, 1934. p. 1.
  21. ↑ "City Forced to Pay $167,222,000 in Year: Huge Obligations Outside of $30,820,000 Budget Deficit Shown by Cunningham". The New York Times. February 8, 1934. p. 1.
  22. ↑ "City pays tribute to Cunningham". New York Times. May 8, 1934. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
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