Ed Koch

Ed Koch
Koch at the commissioning of USS Lake Champlain in New York City, August 12, 1988
105th Mayor of New York City
In office January 1, 1978 – December 31, 1989
Preceded by	Abraham D. Beame
Succeeded by	David N. Dinkins
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 18th district
In office January 3, 1973 – December 31, 1977
Preceded by	Charles B. Rangel
Succeeded by	S. William Green
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 17th district
In office January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1973
Preceded by	Theodore R. Kupferman
Succeeded by	John M. Murphy
Personal details
Born	Edward Irving Koch (1924-12-12)December 12, 1924 The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Died	February 1, 2013(2013-02-01) (aged 88) Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Nationality	U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Parents	Yetta (née Silpe) Koch Louis Koch
Residence	Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	New York University School of Law (J.D., 1948) City College of New York (B.A., 1945)
Occupation	Politician

Edward Irving "Ed" Koch (December 12, 1924 – February 1, 2013) was an American lawyer, politician, movie critic, and television personality. He was the 105th mayor of New York City from January 1, 1978 through December 31, 1989. He was also part of the House of Representatives. He was a judge for the television judge show The People's Court.

Early life

Koch was born on December 12, 1924 in The Bronx, New York to Yetta (née Silpe) and Louis Koch. They were a Polish-Jewish family from New Jersey. He was raised in both The Bronx and in Newark, New Jersey. Koch studied at the City College of New York and at New York University School of Law.

Career

Throughout his career, Koch signed many bills including one that allowed gays and lesbians to marry in New York City. Another well-known act he did in New York was that he helped try to find a cure for AIDS. He had many preventions and awareness programs. He was a Democrat. He ran for Governor of New York, but lost the election. His career began to slowly come to an end after Koch suffered a stroke in 1987. When he was a representative, he supported the Civil Right Act during the 1960s.

Personal life

Koch never married and had no children. Many thought Koch was gay because of the pro-LGBT policies he supported and because he never married. This made Koch angry and told everyone he was not.

Death

Koch went to the hospital on January 19, 2013 and left on January 26. He went back to the hospital on January 31, 2013 because he had chest pains and liquid in his lungs. The next day on the morning of February 1, 2013, Koch died in Manhattan, New York from heart failure, aged 88.

Burial

He was buried at Trinity Cemetery and Mausoleum in Manhattan, New York on February 4, 2013. Many people went to his funeral including former United States President Bill Clinton. His marker are written in the last words of Daniel Pearl. He has a Star of David somewhere in his grave. The epitaph of his grave says: "He was fiercely proud of his Jewish faith. He fiercely defended the City of New York, and he fiercely loved its people. Above all, he loved his country, the United States of America, in whose armed forces he served in World War II".

Quotes

A practiced public speaker since his days stumping for Adlai Stevenson, Koch was well known for his quips and one liners. A few include:

(On the occasion of his primary loss to David Dinkins) "The people have spoken...and they must be punished."

"I'm the sort of person who will never get ulcers. Why? Because I say exactly what I think. I'm the sort of person who might give other people ulcers."

"If you agree with me on nine out of 12 issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12 issues, see a psychiatrist."

Other websites

• Ed Koch on Twitter
• Ed Koch on IMDb
• Ed Koch at Find a Grave
• Voices on Antisemitism Interview with Edward Koch Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
• Edward I. Koch's page on NewsMax.com Archived 2011-05-15 at the Wayback Machine
• Podcasts of Ed Koch commentaries at Bloomberg.com
• Edward I. Koch Collection Archived 2012-08-08 at the Wayback Machine of La Guardia and Wagner Archives – Koch's mayoral records as well as personal papers and photographs
• Former Mayor of New York Passes Away at 88