PoliticalGraveyard.com
The Political Graveyard: A Database of American History
Boston, Massachusetts
including Roxbury, Charlestown
Mayors, Postmasters


Mayors of Boston, 1822-2018 (may be incomplete!)
John Phillips 1822-23 Josiah Quincy 1823-29 Harrison Gray Otis 1829-32 Charles Wells 1832-34 Theodore Lyman 1834-36 Samuel T. Armstrong 1836-37 Samuel A. Eliot 1837-39 Jonathan Chapman 1840-43 Martin Brimmer 1843-45 William Parker 1845 Thomas A. Davis 1845 Benson Leavitt 1845 Josiah Quincy, Jr. 1845-49 John P. Bigelow 1849-52 Benjamin Seaver 1852-54 Jerome V. C. Smith 1854-56 Alexander H. Rice 1856-58 Frederick W. Lincoln, Jr. 1858-61 Joseph M. Wightman 1861-63 Frederick W. Lincoln, Jr. 1863-67 Otis Norcross 1867-68 Nathaniel B. Shurtleff 1868-71 William Gaston 1871-73 Henry L. Pierce 1873 Leonard Cutter 1873-74 Samuel C. Cobb 1874-77 Frederick O. Prince 1877-78 Henry L. Pierce 1878-79 Frederick O. Prince 1879-82 Samuel Green 1882-83 Albert Palmer 1883-84 Augustus Martin 1884-85 Hugh O'Brien 1885-89 Thomas N. Hart 1889-90 Nathan Matthews 1891-95 Edwin Curtis 1895-96 Josiah Quincy 1896-1900 Thomas N. Hart 1900-02 Patrick A. Collins 1902-05 Daniel A. Whelton 1905-06 John F. Fitzgerald 1906-08 George A. Hibbard 1908-10 John F. Fitzgerald 1910-14 James M. Curley 1914-18 Andrew J. Peters 1918-22 James M. Curley 1922-26 Malcolm E. Nichols 1926-30 James M. Curley 1930-34 Frederick W. Mansfield 1934-38 Maurice J. Tobin 1938-45 John E. Kerrigan 1945-46 James M. Curley 1946-50 John B. Hynes 1950-60 John F. Collins 1960-68 Kevin H. White 1968-84 Raymond L. Flynn 1984-93 Thomas M. Menino 1993-2014 Marty Walsh 2014-

Events and Candidates (may be incomplete!)

  • 1845 Nov 22: Thomas A. Davis, died in office.
  • 1849: Joseph Hall, defeated.
  • 1886 Dec 14: Hugh O'Brien (Dem), elected; Thomas N. Hart (Rep), defeated; George E. McNeill (Labor), defeated.
  • 1887 Dec 13: Hugh O'Brien (Dem), elected; Nathaniel J. Bradlee (Rep & Citizens), defeated.
  • 1888 Dec 11: Thomas N. Hart (Rep), elected; Hugh O'Brien (Dem), defeated.
  • 1889 Dec 10: Thomas N. Hart (Rep), elected; Owen A. Galvin (Dem), defeated.
  • 1890 Dec 9: Nathan Matthews (Dem), elected; Moody Merrill (Rep), defeated; Samuel B. Shapleigh (Prohibition), defeated.
  • 1891 Dec 15: Nathan Matthews (Dem), elected; Horace G. Allen (Rep), defeated; Samuel B. Shapleigh (Prohibition), defeated.
  • 1892 Dec 13: Nathan Matthews (Dem), elected; Homer Rogers (Rep & Citizens), defeated.
  • 1893 Dec 12: Nathan Matthews (Dem), elected; Thomas N. Hart (Rep), defeated.
  • 1894 Dec 11: Edwin Curtis (Rep), elected; Francis Peabody (Dem), defeated.
  • 1895 Dec 10: Josiah Quincy (Dem), elected; Edwin Curtis (Rep), defeated.
  • 1897 Dec 21: Josiah Quincy (Dem), elected; Edwin Curtis (Rep), defeated.
  • 1899 Dec 12: Thomas N. Hart (Rep), elected; Patrick A. Collins (Dem), defeated.
  • 1901 Dec 10: Patrick A. Collins (Dem), elected; Thomas N. Hart (Rep), defeated; J. Weaver Sherman (Democratic Socialist), defeated; Herman W. A. Raasch (Socialist Labor), defeated.
  • 1903 Nov 19: Patrick A. Collins (Dem), nominated; Frederick A. Gore (Dem), defeated in primary.
  • 1903 Nov 19: George N. Swallow (Rep), nominated; Michael J. Murray (Rep), defeated in primary; E. Peabody Gerry (Rep), defeated in primary.
  • 1903 Nov 19: George W. Galvin (Socialist), nominated unopposed.
  • 1903 Dec 15: Patrick A. Collins (Dem), elected; George N. Swallow (Rep), defeated; George W. Galvin (Socialist), defeated; William H. Carroll (Socialist Labor), defeated.
  • 1905 Sep 13: Patrick A. Collins, died in office.
  • 1905 Nov 16: John F. Fitzgerald (Dem), nominated; Edward J. Donovan (Dem), defeated in primary.
  • 1905 Nov 16: Louis A. Frothingham (Rep), nominated; Henry S. Dewey (Rep), defeated in primary; Edward B. Callender (Rep), defeated in primary.
  • 1905 Dec 12: John F. Fitzgerald (Dem), elected; Louis A. Frothingham (Rep & Citizens), defeated; Henry S. Dewey (Independent Republican), defeated; George G. Hall (Socialist), defeated; James A. Watson (Municipal Ownership & Citizens), defeated.
  • 1907 Nov 14: John F. Fitzgerald (Dem), nominated; John A. Coulthurst (Dem), defeated in primary.
  • 1907 Nov 14: George A. Hibbard (Rep), nominated; William E. Hannan (Rep), defeated in primary; Frederic W. Bliss (Rep), defeated in primary.
  • 1907 Nov 14: John A. Coulthurst (Independence League), nominated unopposed.
  • 1907 Dec 10: George A. Hibbard (Rep), elected; John F. Fitzgerald (Dem), defeated; John A. Coulthurst (Independence League), defeated.
  • 1914 Jan 13: James M. Curley, elected; Thomas J. Kenny, defeated.
  • 1917 Dec 18: Andrew J. Peters, elected; James M. Curley, defeated; James A. Gallivan, defeated; Peter F. Tague, defeated.
  • 1921 Dec 13: James M. Curley, elected; John R. Murphy, defeated; Charles S. O'Connor, defeated; Charles S. Baxter, defeated.
  • 1925 Nov 3: Malcolm E. Nichols, elected; Theodore A. Glynn, defeated; Joseph H. O'Neil, defeated; Daniel H. Coakley, defeated; Thomas C. O'Brien, defeated; John A. Keliher, defeated; W. T. A. Fitzgerald, defeated; Alonzo B. Cook, defeated; Walter G. McGauley, defeated; Charles L. Burrill, defeated.
  • 1929 Nov 5: James M. Curley, elected; Frederick W. Mansfield, defeated; Daniel H. Coakley, defeated.
  • 1933 Nov 7: Frederick W. Mansfield, elected; Malcolm E. Nichols, defeated; William J. Foley, defeated; Henry Parkman, Jr., defeated; Joseph F. O'Connell (Dem), defeated; Michael H. Sullivan, defeated.
  • 1937 Nov 2: Maurice J. Tobin, elected; James M. Curley, defeated; Malcolm E. Nichols, defeated; William J. Foley, defeated; Alfred Santosuosso, defeated; Carleton L. Brett, defeated.
  • 1941 Nov 4: Maurice J. Tobin, elected; James M. Curley, defeated; Joseph Lee, defeated; Malcolm E. Nichols, defeated.
  • 1945 Nov 6: James M. Curley, elected; John E. Kerrigan, defeated; William Arthur Reilly, defeated; John J. Sawtelle, defeated; Joseph Lee, defeated; Michael Paul Feeney, defeated.
  • 1949 Nov 8: John B. Hynes, elected; James M. Curley, defeated; Patrick J. McDonough, defeated; George F. Oakes, defeated; Walter A. O'Brien, Jr., defeated.
  • 1951 Sep 25: John B. Hynes, nominated; James M. Curley, nominated; Joseph F. Timilty, defeated in primary; Thomas J. O'Brien, defeated in primary.
  • 1951 Nov 6: John B. Hynes, elected; James M. Curley, defeated.
  • 1955 Sep 27: John B. Hynes, nominated; John E. Powers, nominated; James M. Curley, defeated in primary; Chester A. Dolan, Jr., defeated in primary.
  • 1955 Nov 8: John B. Hynes, elected; John E. Powers, defeated.
  • 1959 Sep 22: John E. Powers, nominated; John F. Collins, nominated; Gabriel Francis Piemonte, defeated in primary; James W. Hennigan, Jr., defeated in primary; John P. McMorrow, defeated in primary.
  • 1959 Nov 3: John F. Collins, elected; John E. Powers, defeated.
  • 1963 Sep 24: John F. Collins, nominated; Gabriel Francis Piemonte, nominated; Patrick F. McDonough, defeated in primary; Julius Ansel, defeated in primary; William P. Foley, defeated in primary.
  • 1963 Nov 5: John F. Collins, elected; Gabriel Francis Piemonte, defeated.
  • 1967 Sep 26: Louise Day Hicks, nominated; Kevin H. White, nominated; John W. Sears, defeated in primary; Edward J. Logue, defeated in primary; Christopher A. Iannella, defeated in primary; Stephen C. Davenport, defeated in primary; Nicholas Abraham, defeated in primary; Albert L. O'Neil, defeated in primary; Peter F. Hines, defeated in primary; John J. McDonough, defeated in primary.
  • 1967 Nov 7: Kevin H. White, elected; Louise Day Hicks, defeated.
  • 1971 Sep 14: Kevin H. White, nominated; Louise Day Hicks, nominated; Joseph F. Timilty, defeated in primary; Thomas I. Atkins, defeated in primary; John L. Saltonstall, Jr., defeated in primary; John E. Powers, Jr., defeated in primary.
  • 1971 Nov 2: Kevin H. White, elected; Louise Day Hicks, defeated.
  • 1975 Sep 23: Kevin H. White, nominated; Joseph F. Timilty, nominated; Norman Oliver, defeated in primary; Robert A. Gibbons, defeated in primary.
  • 1975 Nov 4: Kevin H. White, elected; Joseph F. Timilty, defeated.
  • 1979 Sep 25: Kevin H. White, nominated; Joseph F. Timilty, nominated; Melvin H. King, defeated in primary; David I. Finnegan, defeated in primary; Laurence R. Sherman, defeated in primary; Luis F. Castro, defeated in primary.
  • 1979 Nov 6: Kevin H. White, elected; Joseph F. Timilty, defeated.
  • 1983 Oct 11: Raymond L. Flynn, nominated; Melvin H. King, nominated; David I. Finnegan, defeated in primary; Lawrence S. DiCara, defeated in primary; Dennis J. Kearney, defeated in primary; Frederick C. Langone, defeated in primary; Robert R. Kiley, defeated in primary; Michael Gelber, defeated in primary; Eloise Linger, defeated in primary.
  • 1983 Nov 15: Raymond L. Flynn, elected; Melvin H. King, defeated.
  • 1987 Sep 22: Raymond L. Flynn, nominated; Joseph M. Tierney, nominated; Joel San Juan, defeated in primary; Richard A. Black, defeated in primary.
  • 1987 Nov 3: Raymond L. Flynn, elected; Joseph M. Tierney, defeated.
  • 1991 Nov 5: Raymond L. Flynn, elected; Edward J. Doherty, defeated.


    Postmasters at Boston, 1775-1969 (may be incomplete!)
    Jonathan Hastings 1775-1808 Aaron Hill 1808-29 Nathaniel Greene 1829-41 George William Gordon 1841-43 Nathaniel Greene 1843-49 William Hayden 1849-50 George William Gordon 1850-53 Edwin Curtis Bailey 1853-57 Nahum Capen 1857-61 John G. Palfrey 1861-67 William Lathrop Burt 1867-75 Edward Silas Tobey 1875-86 John Murray Corse 1886-91 Thomas N. Hart 1891-93 Jeremiah W. Coveney 1893-97 Henry A. Thomas 1897-99 Arthur R. Henderson 1899 George A. Hibbard 1899-1907 Edward C. Mansfield 1907-14 William F. Murray 1914-18 William E. Hurley 1918-20 Roland Morris Baker 1920-29 Charles Rice Gow 1929-31 William E. Hurley 1931 William E. Hurley 1931-35 Peter F. Tague 1935-37 Peter F. Tague 1937-41 John W. Gleavy 1941-43 Patrick J. Connelly 1943-48 Francis A. Crowley 1948-49 Francis A. Crowley 1949-51 Joseph P. W. Finn 1951-52 Joseph P. W. Finn 1952-58 Ephraim Martin 1958 Ephraim Martin 1958-69

    Events and Candidates (may be incomplete!)

  • 1918 Sep 21: William F. Murray, died in office.
  • 1941 Sep 17: Peter F. Tague, died in office.


    Roxbury
    (annexed to Boston 1867)

    Mayors of Roxbury, 1847-54 (may be incomplete!)
    Henry A. S. Dearborn as of 1847-51 Linus B. Comins as of 1854


    Charlestown
    (annexed to Boston 1874)

    Mayors of Charlestown, 1847-73 (may be incomplete!)
    George Washington Warren 1847-50 Richard Frothingham 1851-53 James Adams 1854 Timothy T. Sawyer 1855-57 James Dana 1858-60 Horace G. Hutchins 1861 Phineas J. Stone 1862-64 Charles Robinson, Jr. 1865-66 Liverus Hull 1867-68 Eugene L. Norton 1869 William H. Kent 1870-73 Jonathan Stone 1873


    Postmasters at Charlestown, 1816 (may be incomplete!)
    John Kettell as of 1816

  • "Enjoy the hospitable entertainment of a political graveyard."
    Henry L. Clinton, Apollo Hall, New York City, February 3, 1872
    The Political Graveyard

    The Political Graveyard is a web site about U.S. political history and cemeteries. Founded in 1996, it is the Internet's most comprehensive free source for American political biography, listing 320,919 politicians, living and dead.
     
      The coverage of this site includes (1) the President, Vice President, members of Congress, elected state and territorial officeholders in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories; and the chief elected official, typically the mayor, of qualifying municipalities; (2) candidates at election, including primaries, for any of the above; (3) all federal judges and all state appellate judges; (4) certain federal officials, including the federal cabinet, diplomatic chiefs of mission, consuls, U.S. district attorneys, collectors of customs and internal revenue, members of major federal commissions; and political appointee (pre-1969) postmasters of qualifying communities; (5) state and national political party officials, including delegates, alternate delegates, and other participants in national party nominating conventions; (6) Americans who served as "honorary" consuls for other nations before 1950. Note: municipalities or communities "qualify", for Political Graveyard purposes, if they have at least half a million person-years of history, inclusive of predecessor, successor, and merged entities.  
      The listings are incomplete; development of the database is a continually ongoing project.  
      Information on this page — and on all other pages of this site — is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. Users are advised to check with other sources before relying on any information here.  
      The official URL for this page is: https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/ofc/boston.html .  
      Links to this or any other Political Graveyard page are welcome, but specific page addresses may sometimes change as the site develops.  
      If you are searching for a specific named individual, try the alphabetical index of politicians.  
    Copyright notices: (1) Facts are not subject to copyright; see Feist v. Rural Telephone. (2) Politician portraits displayed on this site are 70-pixel-wide monochrome thumbnail images, which I believe to constitute fair use under applicable copyright law. Where possible, each image is linked to its online source. However, requests from owners of copyrighted images to delete them from this site are honored. (3) Original material, programming, selection and arrangement are © 1996-2023 Lawrence Kestenbaum. (4) This work is also licensed for free non-commercial re-use, with attribution, under a Creative Commons License.
    Site information: The Political Graveyard is created and maintained by Lawrence Kestenbaum, who is solely responsible for its structure and content. — The mailing address is The Political Graveyard, P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106. — This site is hosted by HDL. — The Political Graveyard opened on July 1, 1996; the last full revision was done on March 8, 2023.

    Creative 
Commons License Follow polgraveyard on Twitter [Amazon.com]