Robert Eneas Lamberton Explained

Robert Lamberton
Office:88th Mayor of Philadelphia
Term Start:January 1, 1940
Term End:August 22, 1941
Predecessor:George Connell
Successor:Bernard Samuel
Birth Date:14 September 1886
Birth Place:Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Death Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Party:Republican

Robert Eneas Lamberton (September 14, 1886 – August 22, 1941) was an American Republican politician who served as the 88th (114th if one counts those elected to nonconsecutive terms more than once) mayor of Philadelphia from 1940 until his death in 1941.[1]

He was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and ran an unsuccessful campaign for Pennsylvania Governor in 1934. He ran successfully for Philadelphia mayor in 1939 against Robert White, a Democrat, garnering 398,384 votes to White's 361,143.[2]

Lamberton suffered from Parkinson’s Disease and, died while recovering at his shore house in Longport, New Jersey on August 22, 1941. The City Council President Bernard Samuel succeeded him as mayor.[3] [4]

Several years later, a school was named after him in Philadelphia's Overbrook Park section. The school has been called Robert E. Lamberton Public School, Lamberton Public School, Robert E. Lamberton High School, Robert E. Lamberton Eastern Early College High School, and Lamberton High School.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Weigley, Russell F., ed. Philadelphia: A 300-Year History, New York: W. W. Norton, 1982.
  2. "The Great Depression," The Philadelphia Encyclopedia, Internet website http://www.philadelphiaencyclopedia.org, accessed September 20, 2014.
  3. News: Death Comes While He Sleeps In Home at Shore . Philadelphia Inquirer . 1941-08-23.
  4. News: Samuel is Mayor of Philadelphia; Sworn In to Fill Lamberton's Place Until Voters Choose a Successor at the Polls . New York Times . 1941-08-23.
  5. Curtis, John Trevor, The Public Schools of Philadelphia, Philadelphia: Burk and McFetridge, 1897.