William Fitts Ryan

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William Fitts Ryan (June 28, 1922 – September 17, 1972) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1961 until his death in 1972. He represented Manhattan’s Upper West Side in New York’s 20th district.

Born in Albion, New York, Ryan came from a family with public service—his father, Bernard Ryan, was a judge appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt. He attended local schools and Woodberry Forest School in Virginia, then went to Princeton University, graduating in 1944. During World War II (1943–1946), he served as an artillery lieutenant in the South Pacific with the 32nd Infantry Division. After the war, he earned a degree from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs in 1947 and a law degree from Columbia Law School in 1949. He began practicing law after being admitted to the bar and later worked as an assistant district attorney in New York County from 1950 to 1961.

Ryan was elected to Congress in 1960 (taking office in 1961) and won re-election five times. He was an early and vocal opponent of the Vietnam War and supported civil rights. In 1965, he ran for mayor of New York City and finished third in a reform-oriented Democratic primary. He played a key role in creating the Gateway National Recreation Area, a federal park unit around New York City.

After the 1970 census, redistricting put Bella Abzug in the same district. Ryan narrowly won the Democratic nomination against her but died of throat cancer in September 1972, at age 50. His widow, Priscilla Ryan, later tried to succeed him, but Abzug won the seat. Ryan was buried in St. Thomas Church Cemetery in Croom, Maryland.