Joseph T. Higgins

Joseph Thomas Higgins (October 20, 1890 – August 30, 1980) was an American lawyer and politician from New York City. He serve five terms in the New York State Assembly.

Early life Higgins was born on October 20, 1890, in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Jeremiah J. Higgins and Mary A. Donahue. His father, the son of an Irish immigrant, was president of the Home Cooperative Bank as well as president and treasurer of several real estate and building firms.

Higgins attended Worcester schools. He then went to the College of the Holy Cross, graduating from there with a Bachelor of Arts in 1916.

Higgins then returned to Fordham and studied law there until 1921. A noted college athlete, 1917 and 1918 1930, 1931, and 1932. In 1932, he was the Democratic candidate for Sheriff of New York County to succeed Thomas M. Harley, who was removed from office by Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt and was the leader of Higgins' assembly district. He was elected dheriff that year and finished Harley's term, serving until the end of 1934.

In January 1935, now-President Roosevelt appointed Higgins Collector of Internal Revenue in the Third New York District. Higgins was a friend of Roosevelt, and the appointment was made with the recommendation of Tammany Hall leader James J. Dooling. The appointment was confirmed by the United States Senate Committee on Finance few days later. He was an alternate delegate to the 1936 Democratic National Convention. He resigned as Collector in 1943 to run as the Democratic candidate for the City Court. He ran against Republican and American Labor Party candidate Francis E. Rivers. He lost the election, after which he went into private practice with the law firm Higgins, Brenner & Higgins. He specialized in tax law. He retired in 1970.