John H. Corcoran

John Hubert Corcoran Jr.
Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts
In office
1942 – December 28, 1945
Preceded byFrancis C. Sennott
Succeeded byJohn D. Lynch
Member of the
Cambridge, Massachusetts
City Council
Personal details
BornJanuary 15, 1897
DiedDecember 28, 1945(1945-12-28) (aged 48)
Boston, Massachusetts
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materHarvard University (A.B., M.B.A.)
Military service
Branch/serviceCoast Artillery, United States Army
Years of service1918
RankLieutenant
Battles/warsWorld War I

John Hubert Corcoran Jr. (January 15, 1897 – December 28, 1945) was a Massachusetts politician who served on the Cambridge, Massachusetts City Council and as the Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Corcoran's father, John Hubert Corcoran Sr. was a member and President of the Cambridge Common Council and the Cambridge Board of Aldermen.[1]

Early life

Corcoran was born on January 15, 1897, to John Hubert Corcoran Sr. and Ann M. (Ford) Corcoran.[1]

Corcoran attended Harvard College, he graduated with an A.B. in 1918.[2]

On April 23, 1918, Corcoran enlisted as a Private in the U.S. Coast Artillery, he was assigned to Fort Strong in Boston Harbor.[2] Corcoran was promoted to Corporal on June 20.[2] On July 4, Corcoran was assigned to the Coast Artillery Officers Training Camp, Fort Monroe, Virginia and promoted to Lieutenant.[2] Corcoran was later transferred to Fort McKinley, Portland, Maine and the 33rd Coast Artillery, Camp Abraham Eustis, Virginia. He was discharged on December 11, 1918.[2]

Corcoran returned to Harvard and received an M.B.A. in June 1920.[2][3] Corcoran wrote his graduate theses on the Departmental Layout of the Proposed store of a Coöperative Society.[3]

Political career

Mayor of Cambridge

Cambridge voters changed the city government from a strong mayor to a Plan E (City Council-City Manager)[4] form of government, with Cambridge having a ceremonial mayor. Corcoran, a member of the Cambridge City Council in 1942 was chosen by his fellow councilors to be City's Ceremonial Mayor.

1944 U.S. Senate campaign

In 1944 Massachusetts held a special election to fill the Senate seat formerly held by Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Lodge had resigned from the Senate to join the Army.[5] Corcoran was the Democratic nominee, he lost the election to Leverett Saltonstall by more than 400,000 votes.[6]

Death

Corcoran died unexpectedly, at age 48, from pneumonia in a Boston, Massachusetts hospital on December 28, 1945.[4]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Cutter, William Richard (1908), Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts; Volume IV, New York, NY: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, p. 1977
  2. ^ a b c d e f Mead, Frederick Sumner (1921), Harvard's Military Record in the World War, Boston, MA: The Harvard Alumni Association, p. 216
  3. ^ a b Harvard University (1921), Official Register of Harvard University Vol. XVIII March 3, 1921 No. 7; Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College 1919-1920, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, p. 131
  4. ^ a b Hartford Courant (December 29, 1945), Obituary No. 2, Hartford, CT: The Hartford Courant, p. 4
  5. ^ The New York Times (August 28, 1944), "HOST OF CHANGES IN SENATE CERTAIN; At Least 10 Incumbents, and Perhaps 12, Will Not Be Up for Re-election", The New York Times, New York, NY, p. 24
  6. ^ The New York Times (November 9, 1944), "Summary of the Election Results in the States; WINS SEAT IN SENATE", The New York Times, New York, NY, p. 16