MAYOR OF NEW YORK (1934-1945)

A Popular Politician.

Fiorello La Guardia was a leading progressive in New York politics from the 1920s until his death in 1947. During the 1930s his flamboyant political style and his hardworking nature made him one of the most popular political figures in the United States.

Background.

La Guardia was born in New York City to an Italian father and Jewish mother. Because his father was in the U.S. Army, La Guardia spent much of his youth living on army posts in Arizona, South Dakota, and other western states. La Guardia also spent time with his mother's family in Trieste, then part of Austria. From 1901 to 1906 La Guardia, who knew six European languages in addition to English, worked at American consulates in Hungary and Austria. He entered New York University Law School in 1906, and while he was a student there he worked part-time as an interpreter on Ellis Island and with...