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Bernard G. Gordon

American politician in New York (1916-1978)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 22, 2026
Entity authorityQ18385402 ↗
Source-derived summary

Bernard G. Gordon (November 16, 1916 – May 4, 1978) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Life

He was born on November 16, 1916, in Peekskill, Westchester County, New York, the son of David Gordon (1885–1962) and Rose Gordon (1889–1977). He graduated from Syracuse University and Syracuse University College of Law. During World War II he was a United States naval aviator. He married Leila Sally Mencher, and they had one daughter. He practiced law in Peekskill, and entered politics as a Republican.

Gordon was a Deputy Secretary of State of New York from 1959 to 1960; a member of the New York State Assembly (Westchester Co., 6th D.) from 1961 to 1964, sitting in the 173rd and 174th New York State Legislatures; and a member of the New York State Senate from 1965 until his death in 1978, sitting in the 175th, 176th, 177th, 178th, 179th, 180th, 181st and 182nd New York State Legislatures. In the Senate he was the driving force behind the No-fault automobile insurance law enacted in 1973.

He died on May 4, 1978, at his home in Peekskill, New York, of cancer; and was buried at the First Hebrew Cemetery in Cortlandt Manor.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Bernard G. Gordon” as american politician in New York (1916-1978). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Bernard, Gordon and American.

Editorial reviewA productive starting point for separating a subject’s documented career from later reputation and commemoration. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1916, 1978, 1885, 1962—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1916-11-16. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Bernard, Gordon and American providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Bernard G. Gordon”, the useful work is to connect “american politician in New York (1916-1978)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q18385402. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1916, 1978, 1885 and 1962.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Bernard G. Gordon”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Bernard G. Gordon primary sources, Bernard G. Gordon archive and Bernard research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Bernard G. Gordon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.