Emanuel "Manny" Celler was born on May 6, 1888 on Sumner Avenue, where his family owned a whiskey business called Echo Spring. The business eventually failed and Celler's father took a job as a door-to-door wine salesman. Celler graduated from Boys' High School in 1906 and enrolled at Columbia University where he studied Law. While at Columbia, Celler went to class in the morning and sold wine in the afternoon and evening, a job he inherited after his father's sudden death. He graduated from Columbia and passed the New York bar exam in 1912. Celler quickly found work as an attorney and eventually opened his own practice, which remained open even after he was elected to Congress.

In 1922 Celler was asked to run as the Democratic Party's nominee for Congress in the 10th District. Celler campaigned hard and won the election by just over 3,111 votes, becoming the first democrat to represent the district. After taking office he devoted himself to a number of issues including the repeal of prohibition and immigration reform. His first speech on the floor of the House was in opposition to the Johnson Immigration Act of 1924, which limited the number of immigrants admitted to the United States to two percent of the total number of individuals from each nationality living in the United States according to the 1890 census. The Act passed despite his efforts. During the 1940s he worked to allow larger numbers of Europeans fleeing World War II to enter the United States, calling Roosevelt's current policy "cold and cruel." His work on exclusionary immigration laws culminated in the Hart-Celler Act of 1965, which eliminated national origin as a basis for exclusion.

Cellar was a vocal opponent of the House Un-American Activities Committee and Joseph McCarthy, who he rallied against in a strongly worded speech delivered at the 1952 Democratic National Convention. He was also on the forefront of civil rights legislation, helping to write and pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. A strong supporter of Israel, he was honored by several Jewish organizations including with an honorary doctorate from Yeshiva University. Celler also received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Brooklyn College.

Celler served in Congress for almost fifty years and as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee from 1949 to 1973. In the 1972 primary Celler lost in an upset to newcomer Elizabeth Holzman. After leaving office Celler returned to his law practice and to his home at 9 Prospect Park West. He died at the age of 92 on January 15, 1981.