Ogden R. Reid

Who is Ogden R. Reid?

Ogden Rogers Reid is a former United States Representative from New York.

Reid was born in New York, New York and he graduated from Deerfield Academy and Yale University. He was widely known by his nickname, "Brownie." His family owned the New York Herald Tribune and, before that the New York Tribune. From 1959 to 1961, Reid was the United States Ambassador to Israel. Reid was elected to Congress as a Republican in 1962. Reid was on the liberal fringe of the GOP and faced repeated challenges in primaries. On March 22, 1972, he switched parties and joined the Democratic Party. Reid said that he could not support Richard Nixon for re-election and the Republican Party had "moved to the right" and was "not showing the compassion and sensitivity to meet the problems of the average American." He turned back a Republican challenge later on in 1972. Reid declined to seek re-election in 1974 and he ran for Governor of New York briefly, dropping out of the race before the election. He later served in the administration of Democratic governor Hugh Carey as Commissioner of Environmental Conservation and was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for the post of Westchester County Executive in 1983. Reid had six children with wife Mary Louise Reid.