John A. Volpe

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John Anthony Volpe
61st & 63rd Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 5, 1961 – January 3, 1963 January 7, 1965 – January 22, 1969
Lieutenant(s)	Edward F. McLaughlin, Jr. (1961-1963) Elliot Richardson (1965-1967) Francis W. Sargent (1967-1969)
Preceded by	Foster Furcolo (1961) Endicott Peabody (1965)
Succeeded by	Endicott Peabody (1963) Francis W. Sargent (1969)
Born	December 8, 1908 Wakefield, Massachusetts
Died	September 11 1994 (aged 85)
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Jennie Volpe
Religion	Roman Catholic

John Anthony Volpe (December 8, 1908 - September 11, 1994) was a Governor of Massachusetts and a U.S. Secretary of Transportation.

Volpe was born in 1908 in Wakefield, Massachusetts, although both nearby Malden and Winchester each claim him as one of their own. He was the son of Italian immigrants Vito and Filomena (Benedetto), who had come from Abruzzo to Boston's North End in 1905; his father was in the construction business. On June 18, 1934, Volpe married Jennie Benedetto, with whom he had two children, John, Jr. and Jean (m. Rotondi).

Volpe attended Wentworth Institute in Boston and entered the construction business, building his own firm in 1930. During World War II, he volunteered to serve stateside as a United States Navy Seabees training officer. In 1953, he was appointed as the Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Works, and in 1956 he was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as the first Federal Highway Administrator.

He was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 1960, and served from 1961 to 1963, before narrowly losing reelection in 1962 to Endicott Peabody. In 1964, he ran and won again for Governor, and was re-elected in 1966 for the first four-year term in Massachusetts history.

During his administration, Governor Volpe signed legislation to ban racial imbalances in education, reorganized the state's Board of Education, liberalized birth control laws, and increased public housing for low-income families. Governor Volpe also raised revenues by increasing the state sales tax to three percent. He served as President of the National Governor's Association from 1967 to 1968.

In 1968, Governor Volpe ran as a "favorite son" candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. Following the election of Richard M. Nixon, Volpe was named Secretary of Transportation. He resigned as Governor to assume the cabinet post, and served in that position from 1969 to 1973. During his administration as Secretary of Transportation, Amtrak was created. In 1973, Volpe was nominated by President Nixon and confirmed by the Senate as U.S. Ambassador to Italy, a position he held until 1977.

Governor Volpe died in 1994, and is buried in Forest Glade Cemetery in Wakefield. The John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge was named in his memory, as well as the Governor John A. Volpe Library at Wakefield High School in Wakefield.

[edit] External link

• Official Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governor Biography

Government offices
Preceded by New Office	Federal Highway Administrator October, 1956 – February, 1957	Succeeded by Bertram Tallamy
Political offices
Preceded by Foster Furcolo	Governor of Massachusetts January 5, 1961 – January 3, 1963	Succeeded by Endicott Peabody
Preceded by Endicott Peabody	Governor of Massachusetts January 7, 1965 – January 22, 1969	Succeeded by Francis W. Sargent (as Acting Governor)
Preceded by Alan S. Boyd	United States Secretary of Transportation January 22, 1969 – February 1, 1973	Succeeded by Claude S. Brinegar

United States Secretaries of Transportation
Boyd • Volpe • Brinegar • Coleman • Adams • Goldschmidt • Lewis • Dole • Burnley • Skinner • Card • Peña • Slater • Mineta • Peters

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