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Irving Ives
Overview
Irving McNeil Ives (1896–1962) was a Republican U.S. Senator from New York who served from 1947 to 1959. A moderate Republican, he was the co-author of the Ives-Quinn Act (1945), the first state law in the United States prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, creed, color, or national origin, and a co-author of provisions in the Taft-Hartley Labor Management Relations Act (1947). He ran as the Republican candidate for Governor of New York in 1954, narrowly losing to Averell Harriman. Ives graduated from Hamilton College with the Class of 1920. He served in the U.S. Army during WWI, interrupting his Hamilton career; he married Elizabeth Skinner on October 23, 1920, shortly after graduation.
Relevance to Research
Ives attended Hamilton during World War I, served in the U.S. Army (interrupting his studies), and graduated in 1920 — not 1919 as sometimes cited. The Hamilton Life corpus documents his WWI service and confirms his graduation year as 1920. He married Elizabeth Skinner on October 23, 1920, shortly after commencement. He then built a career in New York State Republican politics before reaching the Senate. His authorship of the pioneering Ives-Quinn anti-discrimination law places him among the most consequential Hamilton alumni in 20th-century civil rights legislation, anticipating the federal Civil Rights Act by nearly two decades. His moderate Republicanism was characteristic of the Eastern establishment wing of the party in the postwar era.
Notes
Role: Hamilton College alumnus, Class of 1920 Key events: - Born 24 January 1896 in Bainbridge, New York - Enrolled at Hamilton College; WWI service interrupted studies - Served in U.S. Army during World War I (1917–1919); documented in Hamilton Life corpus - Graduated from Hamilton College, A.B. 1920 (class year confirmed by corpus; 1919 is incorrect) - Married Elizabeth Skinner, October 23, 1920 - New York State Assemblyman (1930–1946); served as Majority Leader of the New York State Assembly - Dean of Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations (1945–1947) - Co-authored the Ives-Quinn Act (1945), the first U.S. state law banning employment discrimination - Elected U.S. Senator from New York (1946); re-elected (1952); served 1947–1959 - Co-authored labor provisions in the Taft-Hartley Labor Management Relations Act (1947) - Republican nominee for Governor of New York (1954); lost narrowly to Averell Harriman - Died 24 February 1962 in Norwich, New York
Related Sources
- Hamilton College — Wikipedia
- Hamilton Life Archive (1899–1942)