Abraham David "Abe" Beame (March 20, 1906 – February 10, 2001) was mayor of New York City from 1974 to 1977. As such, he presided over the city during the fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, during which the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy.
Beame was the first mayor of New York City who was a practicing Jew (earlier Mayor Fiorello La Guardia was of Jewish ancestry on his mother's side, but was Episcopalian). He was born in London, and gr...
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Abraham David "Abe" Beame (March 20, 1906 – February 10, 2001) was mayor of New York City from 1974 to 1977. As such, he presided over the city during the fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, during which the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy.
Beame was the first mayor of New York City who was a practicing Jew (earlier Mayor Fiorello La Guardia was of Jewish ancestry on his mother's side, but was Episcopalian). He was born in London, and grew up on New York's Lower East Side. While still a student at Baruch College, he co-founded an accounting firm, Beame & Greidinger. After graduation he also taught accounting from 1929 to 1946 at Richmond Hill High School, and eventually accounting and commercial law at Rutgers University during 1944 and 1945. He became city budget director from 1952 to 1961. He was a Democrat and was elected to two terms as city comptroller in 1961 and 1969. In 1965 he was the Democratic nominee for Mayor, but was defeated by the Republican candidate, John V....
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