John Adams Warner

John Adams Warner (September 17, 1886 – August 19, 1963) was an American military officer, police administrator, and concert pianist. He was appointed by Governor of New York Al Smith to serve as the second superintendent of the New York State Police, serving from 1923 to 1943 during five governorships.

Early life and education John Adams Warner was born September 17, 1886, in Rochester, New York, and completed his degree at Harvard University in 1906. He was the son of J. Foster Warner and grandson of Andrew Jackson Warner.

He built a reputation early on as a skilled concert pianist, having started playing at age four and later training formally in Paris, Vienna, and Italy; his performing career eventually brought him to the stage at Carnegie Hall and to appearances with the Civic Orchestra at the Eastman Theater and the Dutchess County Philharmonic Orchestra. He studied first with Carlo Buonamici in Boston, and later in Europe with Harold Bauer and Leopold Godowsky in Vienna.

Career

New York State Police Warner spent three years with the New York National Guard's 1st Cavalry, including service during the Army's 1916 expedition into Mexico chasing Pancho Villa. He joined the New York State Police on June 9, 1917, as only the fourth officer ever sworn into the force, was made a first lieutenant within days, and reached the rank of captain by June 1918.

By the time he took over as superintendent from George Fletcher Chandler in 1923, Warner already knew the organization inside and out, and his 20-year tenure - the longest of any superintendent in the department's history - reflected how much he shaped it going forward. He largely carried on the operational approach established by his predecessor, even as the force kept growing under him. A 1927 government reorganization folded the State Police into the Executive Department, renaming it the Division of State Police. Warner was a recipient of the Order of the Crown of Italy and the Order of Malta.