Complex sentence: John J. McElligott was appointed the 12th Fire Commissioner of the City of New York by Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia on January 1,1934, on resigned his position by announcing his retirement on February 23,1940.
Split into simpler sentences: John J. McElligott was appointed the 12th Fire Commissioner of the City of New York by Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia on January 1,1934. McElligott resigned his position by announcing his retirement on February 23,1940.