View source for Herbert O'Conor

{{short description|American politician (1896-1960)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Herbert O'Conor
|image        = Governor herbert oconor of maryland.jpg
|jr/sr        = United States Senator
|state        = [[Maryland]]
|term_start   = January 3, 1947
|term_end     = January 3, 1953
|predecessor  = [[George L. P. Radcliffe]]
|successor    = [[James Glenn Beall]]
|office1      = Chair of the [[National Governors Association]]
|term_start1  = June 21, 1942
|term_end1    = June 20, 1943
|predecessor1 = [[Harold Stassen]]
|successor1   = [[Leverett Saltonstall]]
|office2      = 51st [[Governor of Maryland]]
|term_start2  = January 11, 1939
|term_end2    = January 3, 1947
|predecessor2 = [[Harry Nice]]
|successor2   = [[William Preston Lane Jr.]]
|office3      = [[Attorney General of Maryland]]
|governor3    = [[Harry Nice]]
|term_start3  = January 9, 1935
|term_end3    = January 11, 1939
|predecessor3 = [[William Preston Lane Jr.]]
|successor3   = [[William C. Walsh]]
|birth_name   = Herbert Romulus O'Conor
|birth_date   = {{birth date|1896|11|17}}
|birth_place  = [[Baltimore]], Maryland, U.S.
|death_date   = {{death date and age|1960|3|4|1896|11|17}}
|death_place  = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
|party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse       = {{Marriage|Eugenia Byrnes|1920}}
|children     = 5
|education    = [[Loyola University Maryland|Loyola University, Maryland]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[University of Maryland, Baltimore]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
|allegiance   = {{flag|United States|1912}}
|branch       = {{flag|United States Navy}}
|unit         = [[United States Naval Reserve]]
|battles      = [[World War I]]
}}
'''Herbert Romulus O'Conor''' (November 17, 1896{{spaced ndash}}March 4, 1960) was an American lawyer serving as the [[List of governors of Maryland|51st Governor of Maryland]] from 1939 to 1947. He also served in the [[United States Senate]], representing Maryland from 1947 to 1953.  He was a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]].<ref name=archives1>{{cite web |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/001400/001482/html/msa01482.html |title=Herbert R. O'Conor ''Biographical Series''; Governor of Maryland 1939-1947 (Democrat)|author=<!--Not stated--> |date= 14 March 2001|website= Archives of Maryland, MSA SC 3520-1482|publisher= Maryland State Government|access-date= 11 September 2018}}</ref><ref name=archives2>{{cite book |last=White |first=Frank F. Jr.|date=1970|title=The Governors of Maryland 1777-1970|url=https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/001400/001482/html/1482extbio.html |location=Annapolis|publisher=The Hall of Records Commission|pages=271–276|isbn=978-0942370010|access-date= 11 September 2018}}</ref>

O'Conor was born in [[Baltimore, Maryland]] to James P. A. O'Conor and Mary Ann (Galvin) O'Conor. He received his [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] degree from [[Loyola College in Maryland|Loyola College]] and graduated from the [[University of Maryland, Baltimore|University of Maryland School of Law]] in 1920. While in school, O'Conor was a reporter for the [[Baltimore Sun]] and [[Baltimore Evening Sun]] from 1919 to 1920. On November 24, 1920, O'Conor married Mary Eugenia Byrnes (1896–1971) and they had five children, Herbert R. Jr., Eugene F., James Patrick, Robert and Mary Patricia.

From 1921 to 1922, O'Conor served as the assistant [[State's Attorney of Baltimore]]. In 1923, he was elected State's Attorney of Baltimore City, and served there until he was elected as the [[Attorney General of Maryland]] in 1934. O'Conor also served in the National Association of Attorneys General in 1937. His secretary, Camilla Conroy, died in the burning of the luxury liner ''[[SS Morro Castle (1930)|SS Morro Castle]]'' in 1934. O'Conor identified her body which was found floating face down close to the wreck site.
[[File:Herbert O'Conor (MD).png|150px|thumb|left|O'Conor as governor.]]
O'Conor was elected as Governor of Maryland in 1938, defeating incumbent [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] governor [[Harry W. Nice]]. In doing so, he became the first [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] of [[Ireland|Irish]] descent to serve in that position. As governor, O'Conor created the Maryland Council of Defense during the [[Second World War]]. He also worked towards improving the state transportation system, and worked towards the construction of new bridges over the [[Susquehanna River|Susquehanna]] and [[Potomac River|Potomac]] Rivers. He also worked with other states to encourage inter-state cooperation, and served in positions including the Chairman of the Governor's Conference in 1941, and the President of the Council of State Government in 1943.

Near the end of [[World War II]], O'Conor sought to improve the effects of the War and founded the Commission on Post War Reconstruction and Development. He also sought to improve the Maryland healthcare system.

O'Conor was elected to the [[United States Senate]] in [[United States Senate elections, 1946|1946]], but chose not to run for re-election in 1952. In the Senate, O'Conor served as chairman of the Special Committee on Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce from May to September, 1951, during the Eighty-first Congress. After his tenure in the Senate, he continued the practice of law in Baltimore and [[Washington, D.C.]], until his death in Baltimore. He is interred in [[New Cathedral Cemetery]].

==Building dedications==
*Herbert R. O'Conor State Building in Baltimore, Maryland. A building created by an early [[James Rouse]] and [[Guy T. O. Hollyday]] committee using the 1947 Federal Redevelopment Act funds to subsidize development and resale for a profit.<ref>{{cite book|title=New City Upon a Hill|page=39|author=Joseph Rocco Mitchell, David L. Stebenne}}</ref> [http://www.dgs.maryland.gov/Facilities/Baltimore_City/Managed/201_W_Preston_St.html]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=December 2007}}
*Herbert O'Conor. December 9, 1998. <u>Maryland State Archives</u>. October 25, 2004. [http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/stagser/s1259/121/7044/html/msa01482.html]
{{CongBio|O000032}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Herbert O'Conor}}

*[http://aomol.net/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000409/html/index.html Addresses, Messages and Public papers. From ''The Archives of Maryland'']
* {{Internet Archive film clip|id=gov.archives.arc.95802|description="Longines Chronoscope with Sen. Herbert R. O'Conor (December 1, 1952)"}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=[[William Preston Lane Jr.]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Attorney General of Maryland]]|years=1935–1939}}
{{s-aft|after=[[William C. Walsh]]}}
|-
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Albert Ritchie]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Governor of Maryland]]|years=[[1938 Maryland gubernatorial election|1938]], [[1942 Maryland gubernatorial election|1942]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[William Preston Lane Jr.]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[George L. P. Radcliffe]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[United States Senator|U.S. Senator]] from [[Maryland]]<br>([[Classes of United States Senators|Class 1]])|years=[[1946 United States Senate election in Maryland|1946]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[George P. Mahoney]]}}
|-
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Harry Nice]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Governor of Maryland]]|years=1939–1947}}
{{s-aft|after=[[William Preston Lane Jr.]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Harold Stassen]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[National Governors Association]]|years=1942–1943}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Leverett Saltonstall]]}}
|-
{{s-par|us-sen}}
{{s-bef|before=[[George L. P. Radcliffe]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of United States Senators from Maryland|United States Senator (Class 1) from Maryland]]|years=1947–1953|alongside=[[Millard Tydings]], [[John Marshall Butler|John Butler]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[James Glenn Beall]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Maryland}}
{{USSenMD}}
{{National Governors Association chairs}}
{{USCongRep-start|congresses= 80th–82nd [[United States Congress]]es |state=[[Maryland]]}}
{{USCongRep/MD/80}}
{{USCongRep/MD/81}}
{{USCongRep/MD/82}}
{{USCongRep-end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconor, Herbert}}
[[Category:1896 births]]
[[Category:1960 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:Catholic politicians from Maryland]]
[[Category:Democratic Party governors of Maryland]]
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Maryland]]
[[Category:Loyola University Maryland alumni]]
[[Category:Maryland attorneys general]]
[[Category:Politicians from Baltimore]]
[[Category:State's attorneys in Maryland]]
[[Category:University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Maryland politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century United States senators]]