Fiorello La Guardia

**Fiorello Henry La Guardia** (sometimes LaGuardia) (pronounced /fiəˈrɛloʊ ləˈɡwɑrdiə/; born **Fiorello Enrico La Guardia**) was Mayor of New York City for three terms from 1934 to 1945. A member of the Republican Party, La Guardia is acclaimed as one of the greatest mayors in American history.

## Career

He was elected to Congress in 1916 and 1918, and again from 1922 through 1930. La Guardia is often touted as one of the greatest mayors in American history. Since he was only five feet tall and his first name was Italian for "Little Flower", he was called "the Little Flower" throughout his life. He moved to Arizona with his family, where his father had a bandmaster position at Fort Whipple in the U.S. Army.

La Guardia, a Republican who was liked across party lines, was very popular in New York during the Great Depression. As a supporter of the New Deal, he supported President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, and in turn Roosevelt heavily funded the city and cut off patronage from many politicians and establishments who did not support La Guardia. Many people felt that La Guardia improved New York City economically and socially and restored public faith in City Hall.

During his terms, he unified the transit system, directed the building of low-cost public housing, public playgrounds, and parks, constructed airports, reorganized the police force, defeated the powerful political machine Tammany Hall, and improved employment rates in New York City, even during the depression.

In the mid-1940s, there was a newspaper strike in New York City. La Guardia responded to the public clamor by sitting at a radio microphone and describing and reading the Sunday comics to the children of the city. He described the cartoons and portrayed the dialects and accents of the characters. This endeared La Guardia to the electorate and the children of New York and gave him a larger national image.

## Personal life

La Guardia’s father was a Roman Catholic-turned-atheist, and his mother was Jewish, albeit a non practising one. La Guardia himself was Episcopalian.

La Guardia was a Freemason.

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Fiorello La Guardia
- **birth date**: 11 December 1882
- **birth place**: Greenwich Village, Manhattan
- **death date**: 20 September 1947 (aged 64)
- **death place**: Bronx, New York City
- **party**: Republican Party (United States), Republican
- **image**: Fiorello LaGuardia.jpg
- **imagesize**: 225px
- **caption**: Mayor La Guardia speaks over WNYC on Grade A milk from Budget Room, 1940.
- **office**: 99th Mayor of New York City
- **term start**: 1 January 1934
- **term end**: 31 December 1945
- **predecessor**: John P. O'Brien
- **successor**: William O'Dwyer
- **state2**: New York (state), New York
- **district2**: United States House of Representatives, New York District 20, 20th
- **term start2**: March 4, 1923
- **term end2**: March 3, 1933
- **preceded2**: Isaac Siegel
- **succeeded2**: James J. Lanzetta
- **office3**: 10th President of the New York City Board of Aldermen
- **term start3**: January 1, 1920
- **term end3**: December 31, 1921
- **predecessor3**: Robert L. Moran (politician), Robert L. Moran
- **successor3**: Murray Hulbert
- **state4**: New York (state), New York
- **district4**: United States House of Representatives, New York District 14, 14th
- **term start4**: March 4, 1917
- **term end4**: December 31, 1919
- **preceded4**: Michael F. Farley
- **succeeded4**: Nathan D. Perlman