Anton J. Cermak

Anton J. Cermak (born May 9, 1873, Kladno, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now in Czech Republic]—died March 6, 1933, Miami, Florida, U.S.) was an American politician and mayor of Chicago. He was killed by an assassin’s bullet that was intended for U.S. President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Cermak was born about 50 miles (80 km) from Prague but celebrated his first birthday in New York City, possibly at Castle Garden—the precursor to Ellis Island, serving as the city’s main immigration center from 1855 to 1890. His parents, Anton and Catherine Cermak, settled in Braidwood, Illinois, where, as an adolescent, the younger Anton Cermak followed his father into the coal mines. In 1890 Cermak moved to Chicago and, after holding a number of minor jobs, established himself successfully in business. Meanwhile, he was also making his mark in the city’s Democratic Party organization. He started out as a clerk, advanced to precinct captain, and in 1902 won a seat in the state legislature. He stayed there until 1909, when he became an alderman in the Chicago City Council. After a tenure as bailiff of the municipal court, he returned to the city council in 1919.

In 1922 Cermak’s political career took a major step forward when he was elected chairman of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. By 1928 he was the undisputed leader of the local Democratic Party, bringing together disparate communities of Germans, Czechs, Poles, and Jews. His adroit use of patronage and other aspects of the emerging Democratic machine in Chicago brought him the mayoralty in 1931. On the national front, Cermak’s influence was decisive in bringing Illinois into the Roosevelt camp at the 1932 Democratic National Convention.

On February 15, 1933, while riding in Roosevelt’s open touring car during a visit in Miami, Cermak was wounded by a gunshot that was intended for the president-elect and fired by an unemployed bricklayer named Giuseppe Zangara; he died three weeks later.