Eugene Nickerson

His father, Hoffman Nickerson (1888–1965), was an Army officer, state legislator, and historian who wrote The Turning Point of the Revolution; or, Burgoyne in America concerning the Saratoga campaign.

He worked for Wall Street law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hope, Hadley & McCloy, then Hale, Stimson, Russell & Nickerson.

[6][7] Entering politics, was the first Democrat to win a countywide seat in Nassau County, New York since 1912, when the Bull Moose Party split the Republican vote.

As part of the War on Poverty effort, Nickerson increased public transit in Nassau County, supported community action programs, and attempted to create an Office of Economic Opportunity plan for the county at the end of his term which was largely rejected by the incoming Nixon administration.

"[4] Pressed by Robert F. Kennedy, who recognized Nickerson's political talents, he ran for the United States Senate in 1968 but lost in the Democratic primary.

[4] Similarly, in 1970, he launched a failed bid for the governor of New York, withdrawing from the race early as a result of poor funding.

[9] On August 26, 1980, President Jimmy Carter nominated Nickerson to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to replace Judge Murray Gurfein, who had died in 1979.