John Francis FITZGERALD, Congress, MA (1863-1950)
FITZGERALD, John Francis, (grandfather of John Fitzgerald Kennedy; grandfather of Edward Moore Kennedy; grandfather of Robert Francis Kennedy; great-grandfather of Joseph P. Kennedy II; great-grandfather of Patrick Kennedy), a Representative from Massachusetts; born in Boston, Mass., February 11, 1863; was graduated from the Eliot Grammar School and from the Boston Latin School; attended Harvard Medical School for one year; held a position in the Boston customhouse from 1886 to 1891; member of the Boston Common Council in 1892; member of the State senate in 1893 and 1894; elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-fourth, Fifty-fifth, and Fifty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1895-March 3, 1901); was not a candidate for renomination in 1900; mayor of Boston in 1906, 1907, and 1910-1914; engaged in the insurance and investment business; also owner of a weekly newspaper; chairman of the Massachusetts delegation to the Democratic National Convention in 1912; unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1916; presented credentials as a Democratic Member-elect to the Sixty-sixth Congress and served from March 4, 1919, until October 23, 1919, when he was succeeded by Peter F. Tague, who contested his election; resumed his newspaper activities and also engaged as an investment banker; unsuccessful candidate for Governor in 1922; member of the Port of Boston Authority 1934-1948; died in Boston, Mass., October 2, 1950; interment in St. Josephâs Cemetery, West Roxbury, Boston, Mass.
Bibliography
Fraser, James W. âMayor John F. Fitzgerald and Bostonâs Schools, 1905-1913.â Historical Journal of Massachusetts 12 (June 1984): 117-30; Goodwin, Doris Kearns. The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987.Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present
