Mario Cuomo

About Mario Cuomo

Mario Matthew Cuomo (born June 15, 1932) served as the 52nd Governor of New York from 1983 to 1994. Cuomo became nationally known for his keynote speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention and the subsequent speculation over the next decade that he might run for the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States.

He was born in the New York City borough of Queens to a family of Italian origin. His father, Andrea Cuomo, was from Nocera Inferiore, Italy, and his mother Immacolata was from Tramonti. The family owned a store in south Jamaica, Queens. Cuomo attended P.S. 50 and later earned his bachelor's degree in 1953 and law degree in 1956 from St. John's University. He was signed and played in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system until he was injured when a ball hit his head, and subsequently became a scout for the team.

He first became a household name in and around New York City in the late 1960s when he represented residents of Queens' Forest Hills section when they opposed the construction of a public-housing development in that neighborhood, which has a high per-capita income and is famous for being the site of the Forest Hills Tennis Center. He ran for lieutenant governor in 1974 but was not elected. He was appointed New York Secretary of State by Governor Hugh Carey in 1975.