Representative Arthur George Klein

Arthur George Klein (August 8, 1904 – February 20, 1968) was an American lawyer, jurist, and Democratic politician who served eight terms as a United States Representative from New York during the mid-20th century and later as a justice of the New York Supreme Court. His congressional service, which extended from 1941 to 1957, coincided with a significant period in American history, encompassing World War II, the early Cold War, and the beginning of the civil rights era.

Klein was born in New York City on August 8, 1904. He was raised in the city and educated in its public schools, an experience that rooted him in the urban environment and diverse communities he would later represent in Congress. He went on to attend Washington Square College of New York University in New York City, continuing his higher education within the same metropolitan setting. Pursuing a legal career, he enrolled in the law department of New York University, from which he graduated in 1926.

Following completion of his legal studies, Klein was admitted to the bar in 1927 and commenced the practice of law in New York City. During the 1930s, as federal regulatory institutions expanded in response to the Great Depression, he became connected with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. From 1935 to 1941 he worked with the SEC in both Washington, D.C., and New York City, gaining experience in federal regulatory and securities law that would inform his later legislative work. His professional background as an attorney and his involvement with a key New Deal agency helped establish his credentials as a public servant and legal expert.

Klein entered national politics as a member of the Democratic Party. He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat to the Seventy-seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative M. Michael Edelstein. He took his seat on July 29, 1941, and was reelected to the Seventy-eighth Congress, serving continuously until January 3, 1945. During these initial terms, he participated in the legislative process at the height of World War II, representing the interests of his New York constituents while Congress addressed wartime mobilization, economic regulation, and foreign policy. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1944, briefly stepping away from congressional service at the conclusion of his second term.

Klein returned to the House of Representatives in the next congressional cycle. He was elected to the Seventy-ninth Congress to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Representative Samuel Dickstein and took office on February 19, 1946. He was subsequently reelected in 1946 to the Eightieth Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses, serving without interruption from February 19, 1946, until his resignation on December 31, 1956. In total, he served eight terms in Congress between 1941 and 1957. Throughout this period, he participated in the democratic process during a transformative era in American political life, contributing to debates over postwar reconstruction, domestic economic policy, and emerging Cold War issues, and consistently representing the concerns of his New York constituents as a Democratic member of the House.

At the close of his congressional career, Klein transitioned to the judiciary. He was elected to the New York State Supreme Court for the term commencing January 1, 1957. As a justice of that court, he served from 1957 until his death in 1968. His judicial tenure extended his public service from the legislative to the judicial branch, and he became known as a jurist as well as a legislator, applying his long experience in law and government to the adjudication of cases in the state’s highest trial court.

Arthur George Klein died in New York City on February 20, 1968, while still serving on the New York Supreme Court. He was interred in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Fairview, Bergen County, New Jersey. His career, spanning private legal practice, federal regulatory work, eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, and more than a decade on the New York Supreme Court, reflected a lifetime of involvement in public affairs during a pivotal period in twentieth-century American history.