John A. Volpe
John Anthony Volpe (/ˈvoʊlpi/ VOHL-pee; December 8, 1908 – November 11, 1994) was an American businessman, diplomat, and politician from Massachusetts. A son of Italian immigrants, he founded and owned a large construction firm. Politically, he was a Republican in increasingly Democratic Massachusetts, serving as its 61st and 63rd Governor from 1961 to 1963 and 1965 to 1969, as the United States Secretary of Transportation from 1969 to 1973, and as the United States Ambassador to Italy from 1973 to 1977.[1] As Secretary of Transportation, Volpe was an important figure in the development of the Interstate Highway System at the federal level.
Not to be confused with Jon Volpe.
John Volpe
Francis Sargent
Endicott Peabody
November 11, 1994 (aged 85)
Nahant, Massachusetts, U.S.
2
1942–1946
Early life and education[edit]
Volpe was born on December 8, 1908, in Wakefield, Massachusetts.[2] He was the son of Italian immigrants Vito and Filomena (née Benedetto) Volpe, who had come from Pescosansonesco, Abruzzo[3] to Boston's North End on the SS Canopic in 1905; his father was in the construction business.
Volpe attended the Wentworth Institute (later known as the Wentworth Institute of Technology) in Boston where he majored in architectural construction and entered the construction business, building his own firm in 1930.[4] By the outbreak of World War II, it was one of the USA's leading construction companies.[3]
Personal life[edit]
In 1934, Volpe married Giovannina Benedetto, with whom he had two children, John Anthony, Jr. and Loretta Jean Volpe Rotondi.[3] During World War II, he volunteered to serve stateside as a United States Navy Seabees training officer, enlisting with the rank of lieutenant commander.[3] He was a Knight of Malta and a member of the Knights of Columbus.[5]
Early political career[edit]
Volpe's first political post was in 1951, when he served as the deputy chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party.[3] In 1953, Governor Christian Herter appointed him the Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Works, and in 1956 he was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as the first administrator of the Federal Highway Administration. In this position he oversaw the early phases of the development of the Interstate Highway System.
Ambassador to Italy[edit]
Volpe had a long and abiding interest in the homeland of his parents, and visited it many times. In 1969, he was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.[24]
In 1973, Volpe was nominated by President Nixon and confirmed by the United States Senate as United States Ambassador to Italy, a position he held until 1977. Volpe was snubbed by elements of the Italian elite/political establishment, due to his roots in southern Italy,[25] and he upset leftist elements by making strong statements against the inclusion of the Italian Communist Party in its government. He was accused by the Italian Communist press of being "neo-Fascist" for his views.[26]
Death and legacy[edit]
Volpe died in Nahant, Massachusetts, on November 11, 1994, at the age of 85.[1] He was buried at Forest Glade Cemetery in Wakefield, Massachusetts.
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. Volpe's papers are stored in the Archives and Special Collections of the Northeastern University Libraries, in Boston.[27] Terminal E at Logan International Airport is also dedicated in his honor.