Plaza, a large state government office complex near Albany's downtown area. The plaza's tallest building, Erastus Corning Tower, was named in Corning's honor. In the early 1980s, Corning's health began to deteriorate. In January, 1983 he was moved to University Hospital in Boston, where he died on May 28. Corning was buried at Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands. At slightly over 41 years, Corning's tenure makes him Albany's longest-serving mayor, as well as the longest-tenured mayor ever of any large city in the United States. Early life Erastus Corning 2nd was born in Albany, New York on October 7, 1909, the son of Louise Maxwell and Edwin Corning. Corning's mother was born to American parents in Cawnpore, India, where her father Allan was serving as a missionary. After the 1890 death of Allan Maxwell, her mother Ellen became a successful novelist and married U.S. Navy admiral Albert S. Barker. Corning's father was from an Albany-area family prominent in business and politics. Corning was educated at The Albany Academy and Groton School. In 1928, he began attendance at Yale University. Corning graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1932 and was a member of the Chi Psi fraternity, Wolf's Head senior society, and Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society. Early career After graduating from college, Corning started an insurance company and soon entered politics. He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Albany Co., 1st D.) in 1936; and of the New York State Senate (30th D.) from 1937 to 1941, sitting in the 160th, 161st, 162nd and 163rd New York State Legislatures. He resigned his seat on August 1, 1941, to seek the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Albany. Corning won the first of his 11 terms as mayor in November 1941, easily defeating the Republican candidate, Benjamin R. Hoff, by nearly 46,000 votes. Corning took office on January 1, 1942. Shortly after his first term began, the newly elected Governor Thomas E. Dewey had the powerful Albany Democratic political machine, run by "Boss" Daniel P. O'Connell, investigated. The investigations proved largely unsuccessful and left Corning and O'Connell unscathed. This political machine proved to be one of the most durable in American history, even outlasting the Daley family machine in Chicago. Military service After having been previously classified as ineligible for military service during World War II, in 1944, Corning's draft status was changed