American Democratic politician who served as 49th mayor of Cleveland, OH and cabinet member with Kennedy & Johnson and U.S. appeals court judge.
CLICK HERE for PDF of The Plain Dealer 02.26.95 Article on his 45 years of service. (Please note this is a 19MB file size and will take a while to download!)
CLICK HERE for the Letter Accepting Resignation of Anthony J. Celebrezze as Secretary of Health by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Anthony J. Celebrezze's life was dedicated to serving the public. He entered politics in 1950, serving in the Ohio General Assembly, and continued his efforts on behalf of others for the next forty-eight years. By the end of his life, he had served in the highest levels of both state and federal governments and had helped transform American law and society.
In 1950, Celebrezze ran for a seat on the Ohio State Senate and won. He served as an Ohio state senator from 1951 to 1953. Celebrezze was elected mayor of Cleveland, Ohio in 1953 and served the city until 1962. From 1962 to 1965, Celebrezze served in the cabinets of presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, as the U.S. Secretary for Health, Education, and Welfare.
In 1965, President Johnson appointed Celebrezze to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He served as a federal appeals court judge until his death in 1998. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brook Park, Ohio.
The U.S. government's building in Cleveland is named after Celebrezze, as well as an archives room at Ohio Northern University's law school (Ada, Ohio).
Celebrezze was the father of state attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr., and the uncle of Ohio Chief Justice Frank Celebrezze, and Ohio Supreme Court Judge James Celebrezze, the great uncle of Ohio Appeals Court Judge Frank D. Celebrezze Jr., the grandfather of Anthony J. Celebrezze III and the brother of Frank D. Celebrezze I, a Cleveland Municipal Court judge.
Photo Gallery
The most successful Italian-American politician in Cleveland was Anthony J. Celebrezze. Born in Anzi, Italy, on September 4, 1910, he was brought to this country at the age of two. Educated in the Cleveland Public Schools and at John Carroll University, he received his law degree in 1936. His political career began in 1950 when he won election to the Ohio Senate. As a member of several important committees he was twice voted as one of the state's top senators.
In 1950, Celebrezze ran for a seat on the Ohio State Senate and won. He served as an Ohio state senator from 1951 to 1953.
Campaigning as a independent candidate for Cleveland mayor, who could not be bought, Celebrezze swept into office in 1953. He bucked the party machines to win an unprecedented five two-year terms as Mayor of Cleveland (1953-1962).
In 1962 when President John F. Kennedy offered him a position in his cabinet as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, now known as Health and Human Services, he accepted. He later served in President Lyndon B. Johnson's cabinet in that same capacity.
Anthony J. Celebrezze’s inauguration as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare with President John F. Kennedy in July of 1962.
John F. Kennedy cabinet meeting, White House Cabinet Room.
Clockwise: Bernard L. Boutin (NASA Administrator), Edward Day (Postmaster General), Ted Dsorenson, Robert S. Mcnamara (Secretary of Defense), Donald F. Hornig (Director, Office of Science and Technology), William Wirtz (Secratary of Labor), Anthony J. Celebrezze (Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare), Luther H. Hodges (Secretary of Commerce), Seaborg, (Unidentified Individual), Kennedy, Douglas Dillon (Secretary of the Treasury), John Carver (Undersecretary of the Interior), David Bell (Director, Bureau of the Budget). Behind Dillon is Najeeb Halaby (Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration), Robert F. Kennedy (Attorney General). Washington , D.C. October 18, 1962.
With President Kennedy in Miami Beach in 1963.
Left to Right: HEW Secretary Anthony Celebrezze, President Kennedy, Commissioner of Education in HEW Francis Keppel and Wilbur Cohen
The Reports of the Surgeon General U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Anthony Celebrezze's Visit to National Institutes of Health.
Left to Right: Luther Terry, Anthony Celebrezze, G. Burroughs Mider, and James Shannon
Celebrezze took the oath of office as Judge of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals on September 1, 1965. By Act of Congress, the federal building in Cleveland is named the Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building.
Ten of LBJ's Cabinet member sign a FDC honoring the deceased U.S. President.FDC signed: "Joseph W. Barr", "Clark M. Clifford", "Nicholas deB. Katzenbach", "Ramsey Clark", "Anthony J. Celebrezze", "Henry H. Fowler", "Lawrence F. O'Brien", "Robert C. Weaver", "Robert C. Wood" and "John W. Gardner", 6½x2½. FDC honoring the memory of President Johnson, 8-cent stamp affixed, postmarked Austin, Texas, August 27, 1973.
During his many years of serving the public, Judge Celebrezze garnered many honors and awards. Among them were honorary degrees from Fenn College, Boston College, LaSalle College, Ohio Northern University, Rhode Island College, Bowling Green State University, Wilberforce University, Miami University (Ohio) and Cleveland State University.
The Firetug Anthony J. Celebreeze Wednesday morning with engines running by the Collision Bend firehouse. 12.18.07
Uncle Tony!
Video Gallery
1960's newsreel of Anthony J. Celebrezze being selected as a member of President Kennedy's cabinet.
Anthony J. Celebrezze Sr.
