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Ellsworth B. Buck

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Ellsworth Brewer Buck
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
June 6, 1944 – January 3, 1949
Preceded byJames A. O'Leary
Succeeded byJames J. Murphy
Constituency11th district (1944–45)
16th district (1945–49)
Personal details
Born(1892-07-03)July 3, 1892
Chicago, Illinois
DiedAugust 14, 1970(1970-08-14) (aged 78)
Stephenson, Wisconsin
Political partyRepublican
SpouseConstance Tyler
Alma materDartmouth College

Ellsworth Brewer Buck (July 3, 1892 – August 14, 1970) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York during the 1940s.

Early years

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Buck was born in Chicago, Illinois[1] and attended Morgan Park Academy. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1914[2] and enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve in 1917.[3] He became a meteorology instructor following his training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He moved to Staten Island in 1919 where he served as chairman of the board of L.A. Dreyfus Co. (before that chewing gum company moved to Edison, New Jersey and was subsequently purchased by Wrigley)[4] Buck served as chairman of the Chewing Gum Code Authority from 1934 to 1935[5] and became a member of the New York City Board of Education in 1935. He was vice president of the New York City Board of Education from 1938 until 1942, and president from 1942 until 1944.[6]

Political career

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Buck was elected to Congress in 1944 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James A. O'Leary. He served from June 6, 1944 until January 3, 1949, serving in the Seventy-eighth United States Congress, Seventy-ninth United States Congress and Eightieth United States Congress. While in Congress, Buck strongly backed the Taft-Hartley Act, opposed by organized labor; and voted in favor of a proposal to ban the poll tax, a device which kept southern blacks from voting. He did not run for reelection in 1948. Also, while representing Staten Island, he was an opponent of the establishment of the Fresh Kills Landfill.[7]

Retirement

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On April 5, 1949, months following his retirement from Congress, Buck was shot and seriously wounded by a gunman while crossing the street on Stuyvesant Place outside Staten Island Borough Hall. The assailant, Charles Van Newkirk, was a dismissed Merchant Marine engineer who was disgruntled after Buck, as chairman of a House Education and Labor subcommittee, denied his appeal to regain his position.[8]

Following his recovery, Buck served as a delegate to the 1952 Republican National Convention. He was director of the Office of Trade Investment and Monetary Affairs in 1954, and was public advisor of the United States delegation to the United Nations Economic and Social Council in Geneva, Switzerland in 1955.

Buck died at his home in Stephenson, Wisconsin in 1970 and was cremated. His ashes were placed in Thunder Mountain Ranch Cemetery.

References

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  1. ^ Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 2. Dartmouth College. 1914. p. 10.
  2. ^ Dartmouth College Bulletin. Dartmouth College. 1914. p. 262.
  3. ^ Register of the commissioned and warrant officers of the United, Volume 1919. United States. Navy Dept. 1919. p. 761.
  4. ^ Who's who in Commerce and Industry, Volume 8. Marquis Who's Who. 1953. p. 215.
  5. ^ Who's who in Finance and Industry. Marquis Who's Who. 1951. p. 222.
  6. ^ Biographical directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005. United States Congress. 2005. p. 734. ISBN 9780160731761.
  7. ^ Steinberg, Ted (2010), Gotham Unbound: The Ecological History of Greater New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, pp. 242–58, 320–22, ISBN 978-1-476-74124-6
  8. ^ Ellsworth Buck Shot In Spite By Man On S.I (PDF). Yonkers Herald Statesman.
[edit]
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 11th congressional district
1944–1945 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 16th congressional district
1945–1949 		Succeeded by
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