Endicott Peabody
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Endicott Peabody (February 15, 1920–December 1, 1997) was a Governor of Massachusetts
Peabody was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, served in the United States Navy during World War II, and received a BA and a law degree from Harvard University. A star defensive lineman for the Harvard football team, he was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He was descended from the founder of the Groton School, also named Endicott Peabody. He ran for political office unsuccessfully in Massachusetts several times. In 1962 he was elected Governor and served until 1965. In 1966 he ran for a seat in the United States Senate and was defeated by Edward Brooke.
Peabody is remembered for recommending the commutation of every death sentence he reviewed while serving as governor between 1962 and 1965.
In 1983, he moved to Hollis, New Hampshire, where he ran, again unsuccessfully, for local and statewide political office several times. He also undertook an extremely quixotic campaign for Vice President of the United States on the Democratic Party (United States) ticket in 1972. He ran under the slogan "Endicott Peabody, the number one man for the number two job."
Nicknamed "Chub", Peabody, an engaging politician, struggled to transcend his preppy-sounding name and WASP ethnicity at a time when Irish-American politicians like the Kennedy family and their Italian-American counterparts such as John Volpe and Foster Furcolo were appealing to large Roman Catholic constituencies. His detractors made a joke of his name, saying, "He was the only governor to have four towns named after him: Endicott, Peabody, Marblehead and Athol" -- the last being pronounced like "asshole" with a lisp.
Peabody died in 1997 in Hollis, New Hampshire at the age of 77, and is buried in Groton, Massachusetts.
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| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John A. Volpe |
Governor of Massachusetts January 3, 1963 – January 7, 1965 |
Succeeded by John A. Volpe |
