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James Florio

American politician and lawyer (1937–2022)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 17, 2026
Entity authorityQ885569 ↗
Source-derived summary

James Joseph Florio (August 29, 1937 – September 25, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 49th governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994. He was previously the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional district from 1975 to 1990 and served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1970 to 1975. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life and education

Florio was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 29, 1937. Florio was one of three children (all sons) born to Lillian Ellen (née Hazell) Florio (June 18, 1917 – May 2, 2000) and Vincenzo [later Vincent Joseph] Florio (May 12, 1914 – April 7, 1994), who wed in 1936. Florio and his brothers were raised in Brooklyn. His father was of Italian descent and his mother was of Scottish, Irish, and German descent. Florio's father was a shipyard painter who also used his poker winnings to help support his family. Florio attended Erasmus Hall High School in Flatbush. He dropped out of high school following his junior year, joined the U.S. Navy, became a weatherman, and earned a high school equivalency degree.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “James Florio” as american politician and lawyer (1937–2022). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around James, Florio 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—1937, 2022, 1990, 1994—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1937-08-29. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with James, Florio 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 “James Florio”, the useful work is to connect “american politician and lawyer (1937–2022)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q885569. VIAF identifies the subject as 58275652. The Library of Congress control number is n92072035. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1937, 2022, 1990 and 1994.

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
Verify next

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 “James Florio”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow James Florio primary sources, James Florio archive and James 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

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “James Florio”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “James Florio” 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.