Croker, Richard

Croker, Richard

(1841–1922) political boss; born in County Cork, Ireland. His family came to New York City when he was three years old. He worked as a machinist and led a street gang (and was a prize fighter) and became involved in Democratic Party politics by serving as an aide to John Kelly of Tammany Hall. Croker was elected alderman in 1868, and when Kelly replaced the ousted (1871) “Boss” Tweed as the boss of New York City by 1874, Croker also gained influence. When Kelly retired in 1884, he left control of Tammany Hall to Croker. Although Croker held only one formal office during this period—city chamberlain (1889–90)—for the next 17 years, he had a large say in who was elected mayor of New York and controlled patronage. With the election of the reform candidate Seth Low in 1901, Croker lost influence and in 1903 he returned to Ireland, where he purchased a large estate and bred race horses, one of which won the coveted English Derby. He married twice, the second time to a Cherokee Indian.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.