Robert Morris Morgenthau (1919- )

Robert M. Morgenthau, son of FDR's secretary of the treasury, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., was born in New York City and attended Amherst College. Before entering Yale law school, he enlisted in the U.S. Naval reserve and received the Bronze and Gold Stars for his service at Okinawa aboard the USS Bauer. Upon graduation from Yale, he worked for the firm of Patterson, Belknap and Webb until 1961 when President Kennedy appointed him U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York State. After losing the 1962 gubernatorial race to Nelson Rockefeller, he joined John V. Lindsay's staff as deputy mayor. After vacating the post, Morgenthau returned briefly to private practice only to re-enter the public sector in 1974 when he won the first of eight elections to the office of district attorney of New York County. As the city's highest attorney, he successfully tried several highly publicized bribery cases against city officials, tax attorneys and accountants. He lives in New York City.

Source: Kenneth T. Jackson, ed., The Encyclopedia of New York City (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995), p. 770.