Anthony J. Celebrezze
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Anthony Joseph Celebrezze Sr. (September 4, 1910–October 29, 1998) was an American politician of the Democratic Party, who served as the 49th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, as a cabinet member in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and as a U.S. appeals court judge.
Celebrezze was born in Anzi, Italy, but moved with his family to the United States as a young child. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He attended Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio, where he received a J.D. and in 1936 Celebrezze passed the bar and began working for the Ohio Unemployment Commission.
In 1950, Celebrezze ran for a seat on the Ohio State Senate and won. He served as an Ohio state senator from 1951 to 1953. One of the few Democrats to serve in the Senate at the time, Celebrezze cultivated a friendly relationship with the Republican majority. Then Gov. Frank J. Lausche, also a Democrat, did not have a good relationship with the Democratic leadership in the Senate. Lausche thus relied heavily on Celebrezze to represent his interests.
In 1952, when Celebrezze sought re-election to the state senate, he ran into trouble when he crossed the Democratic party chairman, Ray T. Miller, by supporting Michael DiSalle for the U.S. Senate instead of James M. Carney. Celebrezze was nevertheless renominated by his party and won the general election.
In 1952, after continuing battles with the Democratic leadership in the Senate, Celebrezze resigned to run for Mayor of Cleveland. The office was open because sitting Mayor Thomas A. Burke had decided not to seek another term. The Democratic party organization chose Cuyahoga County Engineer Albert S. Porter to succeed Burke. Celebrezze, although he did not have the support of Chairman Miller, did have the backing of Governor Lausche. Mayor Burke did not take sides between Celebrezze and Porter.
In the open primary between Porter, Celebrezze, and Republican juvenile court Judge William J. McDermott, Celebrezze pulled off a surprise victory, with a substantial lead over McDermott. Porter came in third. In the general election, Celebrezze again defeated Republican McDermott.
Celebrezze was mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, from 1953 to 1962. In 1958, he sought the Democratic nomination for Governor of Ohio, but lost to Michael DiSalle. In 1960, he launched the Erieview urban renewal plan, designed by architect I. M. Pei. The most prominent result of the plan was the Erieview Tower. From 1962 to 1965, Celebrezze served in the cabinets of presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, as the U.S. Secretary for Health, Education, and Welfare.
In 1965, President Johnson appointed Celebrezze to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He served as a federal appeals court judge until his death in 1998. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brook Park, Ohio.
The U.S. government's building in Cleveland is named after Celebrezze, as well as an archives room at Ohio Northern University's law school (Ada, Ohio).
Celebrezze was the father of state attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr., and the uncle of Ohio Chief Justice Frank Celebrezze, and Ohio Supreme Court Judge James Celebrezze, the great uncle of Ohio Appeals Court Judge Frank D. Celebrezze Jr., the grandfather of Anthony J. Celebrezze III and the brother of Frank D. Celebrezze I, a Cleveland Municipal Court judge.
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| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas A. Burke |
Mayor of Cleveland 1954–1961 |
Succeeded by Ralph S. Locher |
| Preceded by Abraham A. Ribicoff |
United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare 1962–1965 |
Succeeded by John William Gardner |
| United States Secretaries of Health, Education and Welfare |  |
|---|---|
| Hobby • Folsom • Flemming • Ribicoff • Celebrezze • Gardner • Cohen • Finch • Richardson • Weinberger • Mathews • Califano • Harris |
