Henry E. Parker
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February 14, 1928
Henry E. Parker | |
|---|---|
,_Secretary_of_the_State_of_Connecticut,_1977.jpg) Parker in 1976 | |
| Connecticut State Treasurer | |
| In office January 8, 1975 – February 3, 1986 | |
| Preceded by | Alden A. Ives |
| Succeeded by | Joan R. Kemler |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Henry Ellsworth Parker February 14, 1928 |
| Died | September 29, 2018 (aged 90) |
| Party | Democratic Party |
| Alma mater | Hampton Institute (BS) Southern Connecticut State University (MS) |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Nickname | Hank |
Henry Ellsworth Parker (February 14, 1928 – September 29, 2018) was an American politician who served as Connecticut State Treasurer from 1975 to 1986. These 11 years represented the office's second-longest modern tenure, surpassed only by Denise Nappier's 20 years in the office.[1] Parker was the second African American to be elected treasurer in Connecticut, after Gerald Lamb. Since Parker ran in 1974, the Democratic Party has always nominated an African American for state treasurer.[2] Parker also ran three times for New Haven mayor in 1969, 1971, and 1979.[2][3]
Parker was born on February 14, 1928, in Baltimore, Maryland, to parents Henry L. and Daisy Parker. One of six children, he grew up in poverty during the Great Depression. He was a star athlete at the Frederick Douglass High School, captaining the football and basketball teams and serving as the student council president. On graduating in 1946, he received a scholarship to Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. When the scholarship fell through, Parker enlisted in the United States Army, serving in the Korean War. Declining an invitation to play for the Harlem Globetrotters after his military service ended, Parker instead enrolled at the Hampton Institute, graduating with his bachelor's degree in education in 1956.[2][3][4]
In 1959, Parker moved to New Haven, Connecticut, where he directed the city's first community school. He earned a Master of Science degree in education from Southern Connecticut State University in 1965, writing his thesis on "The Implication of National Emphasis on Physical Fitness for Physical Education."[3][5] His wife, Janette Parker, founded and ran the Mother Goose Nursery and Kindergarten in New Haven.[2]