Maxwell S. Harris

{{short description|American lawyer and politician from New York (1876–1933)}}

{{infobox officeholder

|name=Maxwell S. Harris

|office=Member of the New York State Senate from the 4th district

|term_start=January 1, 1921

|term_end=December 31, 1922

|predecessor=Kenneth F. Sutherland

|successor=Philip M. Kleinfeld

|birth_date={{birth date|1876|7|3}}

|birth_place=New York City, U.S.

|death_date={{death date and age|1933|4|14|1876|7|3}}

|death_place=Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.

|death_cause=Heart attack

|resting_place=Acacia Cemetery, New York City, U.S.

|party=Republican

|spouse={{marriage|Helen Westerhouse|1904}}

|children=1

|education=City College of New York (AB)
New York University (LLB)

|profession=Politician, lawyer

}}

Maxwell S. Harris (July 3, 1876 – April 14, 1933) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Life

Harris was born on July 3, 1876, in New York City. He graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1897 with an A.B. In 1899, he graduated from New York University with an LL.B. He was admitted to the bar shortly afterwards and practiced law at 291 Broadway.{{Cite book|last=Malcolm|first=James|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2zE0AQAAMAAJ|title=The New York Red Book|publisher=J. B. Lyon Company|year=1921|location=Albany, N.Y.|pages=81|via=Google Books}}

In 1920, Harris was elected to the New York State Senate as a Republican, representing New York's 4th State Senate district. He served in the Senate in 1921 and 1922.{{Cite book|last=Malcolm|first=James|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aDU0AQAAMAAJ|title=The New York Red Book|publisher=J. B. Lyon Company|year=1922|location=Albany, N.Y.|pages=77|via=Google Books}} After he lost re-election, he opened a new law office at 140 Nassau Street. He remained active in Brooklyn Republican politics, serving as president of the 16th Assembly District Republican Club.{{Cite news|date=15 April 1933|title=M. S. Harris Dies; Former Senator|page=1|work=Brooklyn Times-Union|location=New York, N.Y.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/577187965/|via=Newspapers.com}}

In 1904, Harris married Helen Westerhouse. Their son was William M. He was a member of the American Bar Association, the New York County Lawyers Association, the Brooklyn Bar Association, the Society of Medico-Legal Jurisprudence,{{Cite book|last=Holmes|first=Frank R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xzHTAAAAMAAJ|title=Who's Who in New York (City and State), 1924|publisher=Who's Who Publications, Inc.|year=1924|edition=Eighth|location=New York, N.Y.|pages=575|via=Google Books}} the New York Guild for the Jewish Blind, the Brooklyn Lodge of the Elks, and the Menorah Lodge of the Masons. He was also organizer and president of the Borough Park Home Defense League and chairman of the Red Cross in Brooklyn. He served as president of the Borough Park Heights Civic Association, and played a leading role in the movement to build the West End subway line.

Harris died from a heart attack at the Seaside Hotel in Atlantic City, where he was on vacation with his wife, on April 14, 1933. He was buried in Acacia Cemetery in Bayside, Queens.{{Cite news|date=15 April 1933|title=Maxwell S. Harris, 55, Dies Suddenly at Atlantic City|volume=92|page=24|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|issue=104|location=New York, N.Y.|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/59988718/|via=Brooklyn Public Library: Historical Newspapers}}