Victor H. Blanc | |
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![]() Blanc in 1955
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Personal details | |
Born |
Victor Hugo Blanc August 31, 1897 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Died | December 16, 1968 Haverford Township, Pennsylvania |
(aged 71)
Political party | Democratic |
Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
Occupation | Lawyer |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/branch |
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Battles/wars |
Victor Hugo Blanc (August 31, 1897 – December 16, 1968) was a Democratic lawyer and politician from Philadelphia.
Blanc was born in Philadelphia in 1897, the son of Samuel and Pauline Blanc. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Odessa, Russia (modern-day Ukraine). Blanc graduated from West Philadelphia High School before attending the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a bachelor's degree and a law degree in 1919 and 1923, respectively. While still in college, he served in the United States Navy in World War I.
Blanc had a private law practice before joining the state Attorney General's office. He was active in Philadelphia civic organizations and served as president of the National League of Masonic Clubs in 1938. At the outbreak of World War II, Blanc rejoined the military, this time as an officer in the United States Army Air Corps. After the war, he continued his law practice, moving to work as an assistant district attorney in the Philadelphia District Attorney's office in 1950. As an assistant district attorney, Blanc won headlines by investigating police graft. That same year, he was named chairman of the County Board of Public Assistance.
In 1951, Blanc ran for Philadelphia City Council. Under the city charter adopted earlier that year, Philadelphians elected a seventeen-member city council, with ten members representing districts of the city, and the remaining seven being elected at-large; Blanc ran for one of the at-large seats. He won, part of a Democratic wave that swept the city government out of Republican control for the first time in 67 years. While on city council, Blanc led an investigation into corruption related to construction at Philadelphia International Airport.