William T. Conklin

William T. Conklin (April 28, 1908 – February 15, 1990) was an American politician from New York.

Life

He was born on April 28, 1908,[1] in Brooklyn, New York. He married Jessie F. Hanrahan (died 1980), and they had three children, among them William "Billy" Conklin (died 2013), who was developmentally disabled.[2] The Conklin family lived in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Inspired by the challenges faced by his son Billy, Conklin was one of a group of parents who formed the Guild for Exceptional Children,[3] and became a director of several other associations and medical facilities that cared for developmentally-disabled children. Conklin entered politics as a Republican, and, after a second attempt, unseated the Democratic incumbent and was elected to the New York State Senate, representing the 14th district, in November 1956.

Conklin served in the New York State Senate from 1957 to 1978, sitting in the 171st, 172nd, 173rd, 174th, 175th, 176th, 177th, 178th, 179th, 180th, 181st and 182nd New York State Legislatures. There he lobbied for the employment of developmentally-disabled persons as messengers and clerks by the state government in Albany, and sponsored legislation for mandatory tests of newborn babies for phenylketonuria.

He was a delegate to the 1972 Republican National Convention.

He died on February 15, 1990, in Brooklyn's now-defunct Victory Memorial Hospital,[4] and was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery.

Sources
  1. "CONKLIN, WILLIAM T." at Social Security Info
  2. New York Times, May 25, 1975
  3. Egeln, Harold (14 Jan 1990). "Billy Conklin, Son of Senator Who Pioneered Guild for Exceptional Children, Dies". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  4. W. T. Conklin, 81; Republican Represented Brooklyn in Senate in the New York Times on February 16, 1990
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New York State Senate
Preceded by
John F. Furey		 New York State Senate
14th District
1957–1965		 Succeeded by
Thomas J. Mackell
Preceded by
Manfred Ohrenstein		 New York State Senate
25th District
1966		 Succeeded by
Manfred Ohrenstein
Preceded by
Jeremiah B. Bloom		 New York State Senate
21st District
1967–1978		 Succeeded by
Christopher J. Mega
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