Samuel Orr

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American politician

title: "Samuel Orr" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1890-births", "1981-deaths", "american-activists", "american-trade-union-leaders", "american-marxists", "emigrants-from-the-russian-empire-to-the-united-states", "new-york-university-school-of-law-alumni", "new-york-(state)-lawyers", "socialist-party-of-america-politicians-from-new-york-(state)", "american-labor-party-politicians", "fiorello-la-guardia-political-appointees", "expelled-members-of-the-new-york-state-assembly", "politicians-from-the-bronx", "20th-century-members-of-the-new-york-state-legislature", "20th-century-american-trade-unionists"] description: "American politician" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Orr" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Samuel Orr
image	Samuel Orr in 1920 Crop.jpg
caption	Orr in 1920
office1	New York City Magistrate
term_start1	January 1, 1942
term_end1	June 30, 1952
appointed1	Fiorello La Guardia
successor1	Nicholas F. Delagi
office2	Special Deputy New York City Comptroller
term_start2	January 1, 1938
term_end2	December 31, 1941
appointed2	Joseph McGoldrick
successor2	George Marlin
state_assembly3	New York
district3	4th Bronx
term_start3	January 1, 1921
term_end3	December 31, 1921
predecessor3	Himself
successor3	Louis A. Schoffel
term_start4	September 16, 1920
term_end4	September 21, 1920
predecessor4	Himself
successor4	Himself
term_start5	January 1, 1920
term_end5	April 1, 1920
predecessor5	M. Maldwin Fertig
successor5	Himself
term_start6	January 1, 1918
term_end6	December 31, 1918
predecessor6	Constituency established
successor6	M. Maldwin Fertig
birth_date
birth_place	Rajgród, Congress Poland, Russian Empire
death_date
death_place	New York City, New York, U.S.
occupation	Lawyer, politician, judge
education	New York University School of Law
party	Socialist (before 1936)
American Labor (1936–1944)
Liberal (after 1944)
Democratic (1960s)
known_for	Expulsion from the New York State Assembly
::

Samuel Orr (July 11, 1890 – August 29, 1981) was a Polish-American socialist politician from New York City best remembered for being one of the five elected members of the Socialist Party of America expelled by the New York State Assembly during the First Red Scare in 1920.

Biography

Early years

Orr was born on July 11, 1890, in the town of Rajgród, then a part of Russian-occupied Poland. His family moved to the United States in 1891. Orr graduated from the New York University School of Law and practiced law, including time at the firm of Benjamin N. Cardozo and Nathan Bijur.

Political career

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Samuel_Orr_1918.jpg" caption="State Assembly]] portrait, 1918"] ::

In November 1917, Orr was elected on the Socialist ticket to the New York State Assembly (Bronx Co., 4th D.), and sat in the 141st New York State Legislature, being one of 10 members of the Socialist Party which were elected to the Assembly of 1918, the high-water mark of the party's fortunes in the state.

In November 1919, Orr was re-elected to the Assembly, but on the first day of the session of the 143rd New York State Legislature he was called before the Speaker along with four of his Socialist colleagues — Louis Waldman, Charles Solomon, Samuel A. DeWitt, and August Claessens. The five were charged with being unfit for membership in the Assembly through their membership in the Socialist Party and were suspended from their seats by a vote of 140 to 6.

A protracted political trial before the Assembly Committee on the Judiciary followed to determine the fitness of the five Socialists to take their seats, which ran throughout the winter and spring. The so-called "trial" began on January 20, 1920. Morris Hillquit and Seymour Stedman were the lead attorneys in handling the case for the Socialist defendants. The group was formally expelled on April 1, 1920. All five were re-elected at a special election on September 16, and appeared to take their seats at the beginning of the special session on September 20. The next day, Orr and DeWitt were permitted to take their seats, but Claessens, Solomon and Waldman were expelled again. Protesting against the re-expulsion of their comrades, DeWitt and Orr resigned their seats.

Samuel Orr was re-elected to the State Assembly in November 1920, and took his seat in the 144th New York State Legislature for the session of 1921.

In 1922, Orr ran in the 22nd District for the New York State Senate, but lost. He ran again in 1928 in the same district, without success. In 1933, he ran in the 21st District, and lost once again.

Orr ran for Congress in New York's 23rd congressional district in 1926, 1930 and 1934 on the Socialist ticket, but lost each time. He was once again a candidate in 1938 on the American Labor Party ticket, but was ultimately replaced for the nomination.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Samuel_Orr_1953_Edit.jpg" caption="Orr {{circa}} 1953"] ::

Orr was appointed Special Deputy New York City Comptroller in 1938, serving through 1941. He was appointed a city magistrate by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia in 1942, serving for 10 years until his retirement. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Bronx County Judge in 1943.

Orr was the Liberal candidate for Bronx County Judge in 1953, coming in second place with 25% of the vote, and for Bronx County District Attorney in 1955, coming in third place with 13% of the vote.

In 1962, Orr was appointed chairman of the Senior Citizens Committee of the New York State Democratic Campaign Committee ahead of that year's elections.

Death and legacy

Samuel Orr died at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx on August 29, 1981.

Footnotes

References

U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, entry for Samuel Orr, retrieved August 24, 2014
The complete text of the resolution appears in State of New York, ''Proceedings of the Judiciary Committee of the Assembly in the Matter of the Investigation by the Assembly of the State of New York as to the Qualifications of Louis Waldman, August Claessens, Samuel A. DeWitt, Samuel Orr and Charles Solomon, to Retain Their Seats in Said Body,'' In 3 Volumes. Albany, NY: J.B. Lyon Co., 1920. Vol. 1, pp. 367-369. Hereafter ''NY Judiciary Proceedings.''
Louis Waldman, ''Albany: The Crisis in Government.'' New York: Boni and Liveriight, 1920. Page 50.
(2 January 1938). "Finegan, Kracke Get New Posts". [[Brooklyn Eagle]].
(2 January 1942). "Boro Lawyer Appointed Deputy City Controller". [[Brooklyn Citizen]].
(2 January 1942). "Many Boro Men Get New Jobs as Mayor Names 31 Officials". [[Brooklyn Eagle]].
(1 July 1952). "Bingham Sworn in by Mayor". [[New York Daily News.
(4 November 1953). "Election bulletins". [[New York Daily News.
"Our Campaigns - Orr, Samuel".
(2 October 1962). "Democrats Fill Campaign Post". [[Buffalo Courier-Express]].
(September 1, 1981). "Samuel Orr Dies at 91; Former Assemblyman". [[New York Times]].

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