Born June 8, 1877
Nastätten, Germany

Died May 4, 1953
New York, New York

U.S. senator

Robert F. Wagner. ©Bettmann/CORBIS. Reproduced by permission.

"He is one of the most approachable men in the Senate. He is 'Bob' to his friends, and those who know and admire him refer to him in this manner."

From Senator Robert F. Wagner and the Rise of Urban Liberalism

A German immigrant, U.S. senator Robert F. Wagner was a political champion for the worker and common citizen in the United States. He embraced progressive politics, strongly believing that the government had a responsibility to help solve pressing social problems. (Progressive ideas gained support from a variety of groups in the United States in the early twentieth century.) In the Senate Wagner was one of the leading advocates of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's (1882–1945; served 1933–45; see entry) New Deal in...