Maurice J. Tobin

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Maurice J. Tobin
Department of Labor portrait by C.J. Fox
6th United States Secretary of Labor
In office
August 13, 1948 β€“ January 20, 1953
President Harry S. Truman
Preceded by Lewis B. Schwellenbach
Succeeded by Martin P. Durkin
56th Governor of Massachusetts
In office
January 3, 1945 β€“ January 2, 1947
Lieutenant Robert F. Bradford
Preceded by Leverett Saltonstall
Succeeded by Robert F. Bradford
47th Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts
In office
1938–1945
Preceded by Frederick Mansfield
Succeeded by John E. Kerrigan
Personal details
Born Maurice Joseph Tobin
(1901-05-22)May 22, 1901
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died July 19, 1953(1953-07-19) (aged 52)
Scituate, Massachusetts, United States
Resting place Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts, United States
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Helen Noonan Tobin
(m. 1932 - 1953, his death)
Children Helen Louise Tobin
Carol Ann Tobin
Maurice Joseph Tobin, Jr.
Residence Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Alma mater Boston College
Cabinet Harry S. Truman
Religion Roman Catholic

Maurice Joseph Tobin (May 22, 1901 β€“ July 19, 1953) was a Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, the 56th Governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts, and U.S. Secretary of Labor.[1][2][3]

Early life and career

Tobin was born in Mission Hill, Boston, Massachusetts on May 22, 1901. He was the son of James Tobin, a carpenter, and Margaret Daly. He was the eldest of four children. He graduated from Boston College and worked for Conway Leather and New England Telephone before entering politics as a protΓ©gΓ© of the legendary James Michael Curley. Tobin was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives at the age of 25 and served from 1927 to 1929.

On November 19, 1932, Tobin married the former Helen Noonan (1906-1987) in Brighton, Massachusetts, with whom he had three children. He served on the Boston School Committee from 1931 to 1937, before shocking the political establishment by defeating Curley in the 1937 race for Mayor of Boston.[1][2]

The Mayor and Governor of Massachusetts

Massachusetts Gov. Tobin to seating in the Dedication of the John Harvard Mall in May 1943.

He served as Mayor from 1938 to 1945, during which time he advocated the Fair Employment Practices Bill, which prohibited discrimination based on race, color, creed, and national origin in hiring or promotion practices. During his tenure as mayor, the Cocoanut Grove fire occurred in Boston. Prior to the fire, club owner Barney Welansky boasted that that club had not needed to adhere to fire codes because Tobin would not permit his club to be closed. Welansky was convicted of manslaughter, and Tobin himself only narrowly escaped indictment. Four years into Welansky's sentence, now-Governor Tobin pardoned him. In 1944, Mayor Tobin was elected Governor of Massachusetts, defeating the Republican candidate, Lieutenant Governor Horace T. Cahill. He served one term as Governor from 1945 to 1947. His administration was marked by efforts to increase the benefits of unemployment insurance and workers compensation. He is also credited with the creation of Massport. In 1946, he was defeated for re-election by his Republican opponent, Lieutenant Governor Robert F. Bradford.[1][2][4]

Secretary of Labor

Maurice J. Tobin with Eleanor Roosevelt.

Governor Tobin remained active in Democratic politics, however, and campaigned vigorously for President Truman in 1948. Upon the President Truman's election, Tobin was appointed as U.S. Secretary of Labor, a position he held until 1953.

Later months and death

Shortly after he left his position on the Truman cabinet in January 1953, Tobin died of a heart attack on July 19, 1953, at his home in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of 52. He is buried in Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts.[1][2][5]

Legacy

A men's dormitory facility on the Long Island Hospital campus on Long Island in Boston Harbor is dedicated to Tobin. The Tobin Building's cornerstone was laid on November 9, 1940.[6] In 1967, the Mystic River Bridge was renamed the Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge. An elementary school is named after Tobin in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, where he was born.[7] The Psychology Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is located in Tobin Hall.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Maurice J. Tobin, Truman Aide, Dies," New York Times, July 20, 1953.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Vincent A. Lapomarda, The Boston Mayor Who Became Truman's Secretary of Labor: Maurice J. Tobin and the Democratic Party, Peter Lang Publishing, 1995. ISBN 0-8204-2448-X
  3. ↑ "Truman Pays Tribute," New York Times, July 20, 1953; "Eisenhower Lauds Tobin," New York Times, July 21, 1953; "3,000 Attend Rites for Maurice Tobin," New York Times, July 23, 1953.
  4. ↑ John C. Esposito, Fire in the Grove: The Cocoanut Grove Tragedy And Its Aftermath, 1st ed., Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-306-81423-4
  5. ↑ Associated Press (July 20, 1953). The Day http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PO8gAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xnIFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4685,3028173&dq=maurice+tobin+dies&hl=en |url= missing title (help). Retrieved 2012-10-16. "Former Secretary of Labor Maurice Tobin, one-time Democratic governor of Massachusetts and twice mayor of Boston, died of a heart attack in the arms of ..." 
  6. ↑ The date is written on a dedicatory plaque on the Tobin Building.
  7. ↑ http://www.boston.k12.ma.us/schools/RC426.pdf

Further reading

  • Vincent A. Lapomarda. Maurice Joseph Tobin: The Decline of Bossism in Boston. New England Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Sep., 1970)

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Frederick Mansfield
Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts
1938–1945
Succeeded by
John E. Kerrigan
Preceded by
Leverett Saltonstall
Governor of Massachusetts
January 3, 1945 – January 2, 1947
Succeeded by
Robert F. Bradford
Preceded by
Lewis B. Schwellenbach
U.S. Secretary of Labor
Served under: Harry S. Truman

August 13, 1948 – January 20, 1953
Succeeded by
Martin P. Durkin
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