O'Connor, Basil (Daniel Basil O'Connor), 1892–1972, American lawyer and philanthropic official, b. Taunton, Mass., grad. Harvard Law School, 1915. He practiced law in New York and Boston, entering into partnership with Franklin D. Roosevelt (1925–33). After Roosevelt became governor of New York (1928), the two men continued an association based on philanthropic endeavors, and O'Connor also served as an informal adviser to Roosevelt. With Roosevelt, O'Connor cofounded (1927) the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation, serving as chairman of its executive committee, treasurer, and trustee. He later became president and trustee of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, also cofounded (1938) with Roosevelt, and oversaw its successful March of Dimes fundraising campaign, which raised millions of dollars for polio research. O'Connor served as head of the American Red Cross from 1945 to 1950.
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