La Guardia, Fiorello

Fiorello Henry La Guardia (1882–1947) was the 99th mayor of New York City (1934–45). He reorganized the police force and restored trust in a municipal government that had been perceived as patronage laden and corrupt during the mayoralty of James J. Walker (1926–32).

La Guardia was born Fiorello Enrico La Guardia in New York's Greenwich Village. His father was Achille La Guardia, a lapsed Roman Catholic who was a bandmaster in the United States Army, and his mother, Irene Coen Luzzato, was Jewish. La Guardia was raised an Episcopalian. ...