Byrne was born and raised in West Orange, New Jersey. He was the fourth child among five of Irish American Catholic parents … See more

Byrne then worked as a private attorney, first for the Newark-based law firm of John W. McGeehan, Jr., and later for the East Orange firm of Teltser and Greenberg.
In October 1955, Byrne was appointed an assistant c… See more

After leaving office in 1982, Governor Byrne became a senior partner at Carella, Byrne, Bain, Gilfillan, Cecchi, Stewart & Olstein in Roseland, New Jersey (now Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Brody and Agnello, P.C.). Additionally… See more

On June 27, 1953, he married Jean Featherly, with whom he had seven children. Byrne's son, Tom Byrne, was the New Jersey Democratic State Committee chair in the 1990s and was a prospective candidate f… See more