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
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts
1942–1945 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic Party nominee for United States Senator from Massachusetts
(Class II)
1944 		Succeeded by