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Kerner-Cermak family of Chicago, Illinois

Note: This is just one of 1,164 family groupings listed on The Political Graveyard web site. These families each have three or more politician members, all linked together by blood, marriage or adoption.

These groupings — even the names of the groupings, and the areas of main activity — are the result of a computer algorithm working with the data I have, not the choices of any historian or genealogist.

  Anton Josef Cermak (1873-1933) — also known as Anton J. Cermak; "Pushcart Tony" — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born in Kladno, Bohemia (now Czechia), May 9, 1873. Democrat. Member of Illinois state house of representatives, 1910; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1924, 1928, 1932; candidate for U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1928; mayor of Chicago, Ill., 1931-33; died in office 1933. Bohemian ancestry. On February 15, 1933, while he was standing on the running board of an open car from which president-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt had just given a speech, was shot and badly wounded by Italian-American bricklayer Guiseppe Zangara, who had aimed for Roosevelt; over the next month, the wound became infected, and he died, in Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Dade County (now Miami-Dade County), Fla., March 6, 1933 (age 59 years, 301 days). Entombed at Bohemian National Cemetery, Chicago, Ill.
  Relatives: Married 1894 to Marie Horejs; father of Ludmila 'Lillian' Cermak (who married Richey V. Graham) and Helena Irene Cermak (daughter-in-law of Otto Kerner; who married Otto Kerner Jr.).
  Political family: Kerner-Cermak family of Chicago, Illinois.
  Cermak Road (formerly 22nd Street), from Chicago to Oak Brook, Illinois, is named for him.  — Antonin Cermak Elementary School, in Prague, Czechia, is named for him.  — The World War II Liberty ship SS A. J. Cermak (built 1943 at Baltimore, Maryland; scrapped 1964) was named for him.
  Epitaph: "I Am Glad It Was Me, Instead of You."
  See also Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Otto Kerner (1884-1952) — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill.; River Forest, Cook County, Ill. Born in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., February 22, 1884. Democrat. Lawyer; alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1920; circuit judge in Illinois, 1927-31; Illinois state attorney general, 1933-38; Judge of U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, 1939. Member, American Bar Association; Freemasons; Knights Templar; Shriners; Elks. Died December 13, 1952 (age 68 years, 295 days). Interment at Bohemian National Cemetery, Chicago, Ill.
  Relatives: Father of Otto Kerner Jr. (son-in-law of Anton Josef Cermak).
  Political family: Kerner-Cermak family of Chicago, Illinois.
  Richey V. Graham (1886-1972) — of Cicero, Cook County, Ill. Born in Galt (now part of Cambridge), Ontario, November 22, 1886. Democrat. Served in the U.S. Army during World War I; lawyer; member of Illinois state house of representatives, 1929-30; member of Illinois state senate 19th District, 1931-38; alternate delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1936; candidate for U.S. Representative from Illinois 6th District, 1938. Member, American Legion; Forty and Eight; American Bar Association; Phi Alpha Delta; Freemasons; Elks. Died in Oak Forest, Cook County, Ill., July 3, 1972 (age 85 years, 224 days). Interment at Bohemian National Cemetery, Chicago, Ill.
  Relatives: Married, June 23, 1917, to Lidmila 'Lillian' Cermak (daughter of Anton Josef Cermak; sister-in-law of Otto Kerner Jr.).
  Political family: Kerner-Cermak family of Chicago, Illinois.
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Otto Kerner Jr. (1908-1976) — of Glenview, Cook County, Ill.; Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., August 15, 1908. Democrat. Lawyer; colonel in the U.S. Army during World War II; U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, 1947-54; county judge in Illinois, 1954-60; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1960, 1964; Governor of Illinois, 1961-68; Judge of U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, 1968-74; resigned 1974. Presbyterian. Member, American Bar Association; American Judicature Society; Freemasons; Shriners; Moose; Odd Fellows; Royal Arcanum; Military Order of the World Wars; Alpha Delta Phi; Phi Delta Phi. While serving as Governor, he and another official made a gain of over $300,000 in a stock deal which prosecutors later characterized as bribery. Convicted in 1973 on 17 counts of bribery, conspiracy, perjury, and related charges; sentenced to three years in federal prison and fined $50,000. Died of cancer, May 9, 1976 (age 67 years, 268 days). Interment at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
  Relatives: Son of Rose Barbara (Chmelik) Kerner and Otto Kerner; married, October 29, 1934, to Helena Irene Cermak (daughter of Anton Josef Cermak; sister-in-law of Richey V. Graham).
  Political family: Kerner-Cermak family of Chicago, Illinois.
  Cross-reference: Milton Rakove
  See also National Governors Association biography — NNDB dossier
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Henry L. Clinton, Apollo Hall, New York City, February 3, 1872
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