Representative Peter Anthony Quinn

Peter Anthony Quinn (May 10, 1904 – December 23, 1974) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from New York and a long-serving justice of the New York Supreme Court. Born in New York City on May 10, 1904, he was raised and educated in the city he would later represent and serve in multiple public offices. He attended St. Brigid’s and St. Raymond’s School and went on to Manhattan Preparatory School, from which he graduated in 1922. Quinn continued his education at Manhattan College, earning his degree in 1926, and then studied law at Fordham University School of Law, graduating in 1929.

After completing his legal studies, Quinn was admitted to the bar in 1931 and began practicing law in New York City. His early legal career coincided with the Great Depression, a period that shaped the political and social environment in which he worked. Building a professional reputation in the city’s legal community, he developed the experience and connections that would lead him into elective office. His practice in New York City provided a foundation in both civil and criminal matters and acquainted him closely with the needs of urban constituents in the Bronx and greater New York.

Quinn entered public office as a member of the New York State Assembly, representing Bronx County’s 6th District. He served in the Assembly from 1936 to 1944, participating in state legislative affairs during the closing years of the Great Depression and throughout most of World War II. In this role he contributed to the legislative process in Albany, gaining experience in drafting and debating laws affecting New York’s rapidly growing urban population. His years in the Assembly established him as a prominent Democratic figure from the Bronx and prepared him for service at the national level.

A member of the Democratic Party, Quinn was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat to the 79th Congress, representing New York. He held office from January 3, 1945, to January 3, 1947, serving one term in Congress. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, as World War II drew to a close and the nation began the transition to a peacetime economy and the early Cold War era. As a member of the House of Representatives, Peter Anthony Quinn participated in the democratic process, contributed to the legislative work of the postwar Congress, and represented the interests of his New York constituents. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1946 and, after leaving Congress at the conclusion of his term in 1947, resumed his law practice in New York City.

Quinn returned to the bench and public service in the late 1940s. In January 1949 he became a judge on New York City’s Municipal Court, marking the beginning of a long judicial career. From 1955 to 1960 he served as a judge on the City Court, an important trial court in the city’s judicial system. Beginning in 1957 he was elevated to Chief Judge of the City Court, a position that placed him at the administrative and judicial head of that tribunal. His work in these roles reflected his continued engagement with the legal and civic life of New York City.

In 1960, Quinn was elected a justice of the New York Supreme Court, the state’s principal trial court of general jurisdiction. He served on the New York Supreme Court from 1960 until his death in 1974, a fourteen-year tenure that spanned a period of significant social and legal change, including the civil rights era and evolving criminal and constitutional jurisprudence. Quinn remained on the bench continuously from his election, and his long service as a justice underscored his prominence within the state judiciary and his sustained commitment to public service.

Peter Anthony Quinn died on December 23, 1974, in the Bronx, New York, while still serving as a justice of the New York Supreme Court. He was buried at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Hackensack, New Jersey. His family continued to be active in public and cultural life; his son, Peter Quinn, became an author whose works include the 2007 book “Looking for Jimmy: A Search for Irish America,” reflecting the family’s Irish-American heritage and engagement with questions of identity and history.