Frederick Bowley (politician) explained

Frederick Bowley
Birth Date:1851
Birth Place:New York City, U.S.
Office:Borough President of Queens
Term Start:1898
Term End:1901
Predecessor:Office established
Successor:Joseph Cassidy

Frederick Bowley (1851 - 1916) was an American politician, who served as the first executive of the Borough of Queens in New York City.

Bowley was born December 19, 1851, in New York City. He had training to be a butcher, and after buying land in Long Island City, New York (state) in 1887, he proceeded to operate butcher shops there and in the Queens County towns of Astoria and Flushing.[1]

Bowley was an alderman representing Long Island City from 1895 to 1897. In November 1897, with the creation of the boroughs of New York City) and the consolidation of the City of New York, the offices of the five borough presidents were created, and Bowley was elected as the inaugural Queens Borough President effective January 1, 1898.[1] [2] [3]

In 1901, he was succeeded by Joseph Cassidy. Bowley later served as county clerk of Queens.[1]

He participated prominently in the formation of "the Queens County Democracy" by Democrats in Queens, to oppose Cassidy's re-election campaign in 1903.[4]

From about 1911 until 1951, a small park in the Long Island City neighborhood was called Bowley Angle after him.[1]

He died on September 15, 1916.[1]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=12704 "Short Triangle"
  2. News: Democrats Take All — The Tammany Ticket Makes Almost a Clean Sweep of the Greater City — Only Two Republicans in the Council — Van Wyck's Plurality Is 80,316 — Seth Low Ran Nearly 40,000 Ahead of His Ticket — The Republicans Lose 21 Assemblymen and Elect Only 11 Candidates to the Board of Aldermen. 19 November 2016. New York Times. November 4, 1897. 1.
  3. News: To Begin the New Year — How the Day Will Be Observed at the City Hall and in the New Municipality Generally — Mayor Van Wyck's Quiet Entry — Receptions and Entertainments to be Given by Political, Social, and Charitable Organizations in the Afternoon and Evening. 4 March 2018. New York Times. January 1, 1898. 1.
  4. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E07E3D81439E433A25755C2A9669D946297D6CF Fusion Democrats Organize in Queens