Harold Putnam (Massachusetts politician)

This article is about the Massachusetts politician. For the Canadian politician, see Harold Putnam (Canadian politician).

Harold Putnam
Portrait of Putnam
New England Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
In office
May 1970 – February 28, 1973
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 6th Norfolk district
In office
January 5, 1949 – January 2, 1957
Preceded byLeslie Bradley Cutler
Succeeded byDaniel H. Rider
Personal details
Born
Harold Barnes Putnam Jr.

(1916-02-15)February 15, 1916
Hyde Park, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedJanuary 9, 2007(2007-01-09) (aged 90)
Vero Beach, Florida, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • Elizabeth Putnam (née Mason)
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1939; div. 1964)​
  • Glendora Putnam (née McIllwain)
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1964; div. 1977)​
  • Marlene Evans Putnam
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1980)​
Children3
Education
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
Years of service1943–1945
RankLieutenant (junior grade)

Harold Barnes Putnam Jr. (February 15, 1916 – January 9, 2007) was an American politician, attorney, journalist, and artist. He represented the 6th Norfolk district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1949 to 1957.

Early life and career

Harold Barnes Putnam Jr. was born on February 15, 1916, in Hyde Park, Boston, to Harold Barnes Putnam and Martha Hyde Putnam (née Sargent).[1] Putnam received his primary education at Boston Latin School. He then attended Dartmouth College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1937.[2] At Dartmouth, he also gained an interest in art and began painting.[3] He studied art at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.[4] He briefly attended Harvard Law School from 1950 to 1951, however; due to familial and legislative obligations, he did not graduate.[5] He received a law degree from the Boston University School of Law in 1952.[6][2]

He worked as a journalist for The Boston Globe from 1937 to 1948,[7] with him serving as veterans columnist for some of this time.[8] Putnam served in the United States Navy during World War II, from 1943 to 1945, as a gunnery officer, rising to the rank of lieutenant (junior grade).[9][6][10]

Political career

Putnam entered politics in 1948, winning election to the Massachusetts House of Representative as a member of the Republican Party. He was reelected in 1950, 1952, and 1954. In the legislature, he was known as a strong supporter of desegregating Massachusetts' National Guard and public housing.[6] He chaired the Municipal Finance committee[11] and was a member of the Judiciary, Public Health, and Education committee.[12] He was the 59th member of his family to serve in the Massachusetts General Court.[11]

In 1956, he did not seek reelection and instead sought election to represent Massachusetts's 13th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.[6] He was easily defeated by incumbent Richard B. Wigglesworth in the primary.[13] After leaving office, Putnam opened law offices in Needham, Massachusetts, his home town, and Florida.[14] He was a member of the bar in Florida, Massachusetts, as well as the Supreme Court bar.[12] He was an assistant attorney general of Massachusetts in 1958.[14] In 1958, Putnam again sought election to the House after Wigglesworth chose to not seek reelection.[15] He was narrowly defeated in the primary by William W. Jenness,[16] who was defeated in the general election by James A. Burke.[17] He was the moderator of Needham for nine years.[18]

From 1959 to 1963 Putnam served as counsel to the United States Senate Select Committee on Small Business.[7] Putnam became Senator Leverett Saltonstall's legislative assistant in 1961.[12] In 1963, he left Saltonstall's office to succeed former Speaker of the House Joseph Martin's chief aide as administrative assistant, managing his Washington office.[18][7][19] He left Martin's office in January 1966 to become executive director of Battleship Cove, a museum including the U.S.S. Massachusetts.[20] He was also a member of Massachusetts' delegation to the March on Washington.[8]

Putnam was strongly associated with Massachusetts Attorney General Edward Brooke. In 1964, Putnam became Brooke's chief assistant, working mainly on major criminal cases. He also again became an assistant attorney general of Massachusetts in 1966.[7] In early 1970, Putnam was set to become New England Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Health Education, and Welfare (HEW), due to Brooke's political patronage. His appointment had been approved by HEW Secretary Robert Finch. In preparation for what he believed to be an imminent appointment, Putnam resigned as assistant attorney general in March 1970. However, his appointment was stalled, with the Springfield Daily News reporting that there was speculation this was to punish Brooke, who had opposed President Richard Nixon on the nomination of G. Harrold Carswell to the Supreme Court, school desegregation policies, and other matters.[21] While waiting to be appointed, Putnam volunteered to serve as the general counsel to the Massachusetts Commission on Marine Boundaries and Resources, a role he held for 3 months.[7] He was finally appointed by Finch in late May.[7] Putnam resigned in February 1973, amidst a reorganization of HEW.[22]

Art and later life

In 1974, Putnam sold his first painting and his output increased greatly. Putnam won his first art competition in 1977, receiving first prize at an exhibition at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art. In 1978, Putnam became a full-time artist. Though, he did not fully abandon his previous career, with his business card reading "Harold Putnam, Artist / Lawyer". He specialized in oil paintings, with his subjects mostly being New England landscapes and seascapes.[3] He was the president of the Copley Society of Art for a time.[23][4]

Putnam died on January 9, 2007, in Vero Beach, Florida.[9]

Personal life

Putnam married Elizabeth Mason in 1939[24] and the couple had three children.[9] They divorced in 1964.[25] In 1964, Putnam married Glendora McIllwain, an assistant attorney general of Massachusetts.[26][27] They divorced in 1977.[28] In 1980, Putnam married Marlene Evans Putnam, an artist.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Hayden, Irving N; Grove, Lawrence R. 1953-1954 Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. p. 263. Retrieved March 23, 2020. Includes photo
  2. ^ a b "Putnam, Harold Barnes, 1916-2007 | Dartmouth Libraries Archives & Manuscripts". archives-manuscripts.dartmouth.edu. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Wilder, Anne (January 27, 1979). "'Artist / Lawyer'". The Miami Herald. p. 176. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Boston Artist To Speak". Fort Pierce Tribune. January 4, 1981. p. 8. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  5. ^ Harvard Law News Staff (June 1, 2003). "An Essay by Harold Putnam '50-'51: The Woman in the Picture". Harvard Law Bulletin. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d "Rep. Putnam to Be Candidate for Congress". The Boston Globe. June 21, 1956. p. 7. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Harold Putnam named to N.E. HEW office". The Boston Globe. May 29, 1970. p. 20. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Harold Putnam; A memory from '63". The Boston Globe. August 28, 2003. p. 23. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d "Obituary for Harold Putnam". Indian River Press Journal. January 12, 2007. p. 20. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  10. ^ "Regional HEW Head to Speak At United Fund Kickoff Dinner". The Daily Item. September 7, 1972. p. 18. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Noted Legislator to Speak At Protestant Breakfast". The Daily Item. October 16, 1953. p. 9. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  12. ^ a b c "Needham Man New Aide of Saltonstall". The Republican. August 23, 1961. p. 26. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  13. ^ "Democrats OK Furcolo, Snub Riley, Ward". Athol Daily News. September 19, 1956. p. 1. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Harold Putnam Named Asst. Attorney General". The Boston Globe. March 18, 1958. p. 40. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  15. ^ "Candidates". The Boston Globe. July 23, 1958. p. 23. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  16. ^ "State Primary Endorses Gibbons; McCormack Knocks Out Peabody". The Berkshire Eagle. September 10, 1958. p. 1. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  17. ^ "Burke Defeated Close Friend In 13th District for Congress". The Boston Globe. November 6, 1958. p. 14. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  18. ^ a b "Harold Putnam Replaces Milne As Martin Aide". The Boston Globe. April 4, 1963. p. 36. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  19. ^ "Ex Rep. Putnam Marries Negro Asst. Atty. Gen". Transcript-Telegram. April 13, 1965. p. 11. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  20. ^ "Martin's Assistant Takes New Post". The Morning Union. January 8, 1966. p. 12. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  21. ^ Bernstein, Peter (April 15, 1970). "Carswell Fight Delays Brooke Plum". The Republican. pp. 27–28. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  22. ^ "Putnam loses N.E. HEW job in Administration shakeup". The Boston Globe. January 27, 1973. p. 20. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  23. ^ "To Show Work At Hanover Inn". Valley News. April 20, 1978. p. 8. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  24. ^ "Marriage of Mason / Putnam". Transcript-Telegram. June 16, 1939. p. 4. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  25. ^ "Ex-Rep. Putnam of Needham Is Divorced". The Boston Globe. April 22, 1964. p. 24. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  26. ^ "Former Solon Weds Negress". The Morning Union. April 13, 1965. p. 1. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  27. ^ Marquard, Bryan (June 29, 2016). "Glendora Putnam, 92, civil rights pioneer in legal, government fields". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  28. ^ Fripp, Bill (July 15, 1977). "Medley". The Boston Globe. p. 14. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
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