Wagner, Robert F.

Wagner, Robert F. (Ferdinand) (1877–1953) U.S. senator; born in Hesse-Nassau, Germany. He immigrated to the U.S.A. in 1896 and took a law degree from New York Law School (1900). Active in the New York State legislature, he became lieutenant governor in 1914. He was elected to the New York Supreme Court in 1918 and to the U.S. Senate (Dem., N.Y.; 1927–49). He won fame as an advocate of labor rights. While in the New York legislature he was chairman of the committee that investigated the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911 and he helped establish new legal protections for worker safety. As a senator during the Great Depression, his hand touched practically every piece of important relief and labor legislation, including the National Industrial Recovery Act, the National Labor Relations Act (or Wagner Act), the Social Security Act, the Wagner-Steagall Act (concerning public housing), and the Home Loan Act. A leader in postwar planning, he was the prime mover behind the Public Housing Act of 1949; he also helped shape the GI Bill and Veteran Placement Service.