Fiorello La Guardia

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Fiorello Henry La Guardia (born Fiorello Raffaele Enrico La Guardia; December 11, 1882 – September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 100th mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1946. He previously represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1917 to 1919 and again from 1923 to 1933. He was known for his irascible, energetic, and charismatic personality and diminutive, rotund stature. A progressive member of the Republican Party, La Guardia was frequently cross-endorsed by parties other than his own, especially parties on the left under New York's electoral fusion laws. A panel of 69 scholars in 1993 ranked him as the best big city mayor in American history. Born to a family of Italian immigrants in New York City, La Guardia quickly became interested in politics at a young age. Before his mayoralty, La Guardia represented Manhattan in the U.S. House of Representatives and later served in the New York City Board of Aldermen. Amidst the Great...

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