Robert C. Crane
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Robert C. Crane | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New Jersey State Senate from Union County | |
| In office November 1956 – March 1962 | |
| Preceded by | Kenneth Hand |
| Succeeded by | Nelson Stamler |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 25, 1920 |
| Died | April 24, 1962 (aged 41) Elizabeth, New Jersey |
| Spouse | Frances Hyde Adams |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College (1942) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Robert Clark Crane (September 25, 1920 – April 24, 1962) was an American newspaper publisher and Republican Party politician from New Jersey. He served as a New Jersey State Senator from 1956 until his resignation in 1962 for health reasons. He died of cancer at the age of 41.
Crane was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Frederick L. and Gwendolyn (Kershner) Crane. Both his father and his grandfather Augustus S. Crane were publishers of the Elizabeth Daily Journal in Elizabeth, New Jersey. After graduating from the Pingry School in Elizabeth, Crane attended Dartmouth College, graduating in 1942.[1] After graduation he became a copy boy at the Journal.[2]
Crane married Francis Hyde Adams on November 22, 1942. They had three children: Geoffrey, Jonathan, and Deborah.[3]
Military service
During World War II he served in the Quartermaster Corps of the United States Army in North Africa, Italy, and Germany, rising to the rank of captain and receiving the Bronze Star Medal.[4]
Newspaper career
He returned to the Journal after the war, working as a bookkeeper. He later served as an editorial writer, assistant general manager, assistant editor and general manager. After the death of his father on August 15, 1949, he became editor and publisher of the paper.[5] In 1959 the Journal was sold to the Ralph Ingersoll chain and became part of Mid-Atlantic Newspapers, Inc.[5] Crane remained as head of the paper until early 1960.[4]
Political career
In 1956, State Senator Kenneth Hand resigned to become a Superior Court Judge. Crane became a candidate to fill Hand's unexpired term. He won a hotly contested Republican Primary with 18,294 votes, defeating Assemblyman and former Plainfield Mayor Carlyle W. Crane (12,961) and Assemblyman G. Clifford Thomas (9,091).[6] In the General Election, Crane defeated Democrat H. Douglas Stine, an attorney from Plainfield, by more than 36,000 votes, 59%-41%.[7]
He was re-elected to a second term as State Senator in 1959, just narrowly defeating his Democratic opponent, former Linden Mayor H. Roy Wheeler. Crane won by just 567 votes, 49.6%-49.3%.[8]
In 1961, Governor Robert B. Meyner planned to nominate Plainfield attorney William Phillmore Wood as the first Black to serve on the New Jersey Superior Court. Crane opposed the nomination, saying he did not view Wood as qualified. As the Senator from Wood's home county, Crane used Senatorial Courtesy to block the nomination from coming to a vote by the full Senate. As a compromise, Meyner nominated Wood to the County Court, a lower judicial post. The Superior Court judgeship went to Crane's choice, Milton Feller, a County Court Judge and a former Republican Assemblyman and Elizabeth City Councilman. Wood was then nominated to Feller's seat.[9]
Potential candidate for Governor of New Jersey
Before being diagnosed with cancer, Crane was considered a likely candidate for the 1961 Republican nomination for Governor of New Jersey.[10]
