John F. Fitzgerald
John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald (February 11, 1863 – October 2, 1950) was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. Fitzgerald served as mayor of Boston and a member of the United States House of Representatives. He also made unsuccessful runs for the United States Senate in 1916 and 1942 and governor of Massachusetts in 1922. Fitzgerald maintained a high profile in the city whether in or out of office, and his theatrical style of campaigning and charisma earned him the nickname "Honey Fitz".
John F. Fitzgerald
George A. Hibbard
Peter Francis Tague
October 2, 1950 (aged 87)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
St. Joseph Cemetery
West Roxbury, Massachusetts, U.S.
- Rose
- Mary
- Thomas
- John Jr.
- Eunice
- Frederick
- Thomas Fitzgerald
- Rosanna Cox
He was the father of Rose Fitzgerald and maternal grandfather of her sons President John F. Kennedy, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and Senator Ted Kennedy. In his old age, Fitzgerald helped his grandson, John F. Kennedy, win his first election to Congress.
Early life and education[edit]
John Francis Fitzgerald was born on February 11, 1863, in the North End of Boston to Irish immigrant businessman and politician Thomas Fitzgerald of Bruff, County Limerick and Rosanna Cox of County Cavan. He was the fourth of twelve children. Both of his sisters, Ellen and Mary, and his eldest brother, Michael, died in infancy. Fitzgerald's brother Joseph had severe brain damage from malaria. Only three of the children survived in good health.
Fitzgerald's mother died when he was sixteen. His father wished for him to become a doctor to help prevent future deaths of the sort that had marred the family. Accordingly, after being educated at Boston Latin School and Boston College,[5][6] he enrolled at Harvard Medical School for one year, but withdrew following the death of his father in 1885.[7] Fitzgerald later became a clerk at the Customs House in Boston and was active in the local Democratic Party.
Entry to politics[edit]
In the 1890s, Fitzgerald founded the Jefferson Club, a political club founded to organize the Irish Catholic voters of South Boston. It was modeled on earlier clubs like Tammany Hall in New York and Martin Lomasney's Hendricks Club in the West End of Boston.[8] Fitzgerald won election to Boston's Common Council in 1891. In 1892, he became a member of the Massachusetts Senate. These early victories came with support from Martin Lomasney.[9]
Mayor of Boston[edit]
First term (1906–1908)[edit]
In December 1905, Fitzgerald was elected Mayor of Boston. In the process, he made an enemy of the powerful Lomasney by opposing one of Lomasney's lieutenants, Edward J. Donovan.[11] After Fitzgerald beat Donovan in the mayoral primary, Lomasney endorsed the Republican candidate, Louis Frothingham, and delivered 95% of the vote in his usually Democratic ward to Frothingham.[12] However, the Republican vote was split between Frothingham and judge Henry Dewey, who ran on the Populist ticket after losing the primary. Fitzgerald won despite Lomasney's undermining, though only with a plurality of the vote.[13]
Another opponent of Fitzgerald's during the campaign was P. J. Kennedy, a behind-the-scenes Democratic figure. They later became allies. In 1914, their families were united when P. J.'s son Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. married Fitzgerald's eldest daughter Rose.
Fitzgerald was the first American-born Irish Catholic to be elected mayor.[11]
Later political career[edit]
In 1916, Fitzgerald unsuccessfully challenged incumbent United States Senator Henry Cabot Lodge.
Fitzgerald won a close election for the House in 1918, but his opponent Peter F. Tague contested the race. Investigators found evidence of fraud in three precincts and when those precincts were eliminated they found Tague to be the winner. Fitzgerald served from March 4 until October 23, 1919, when the House voted unanimously that Fitzgerald had not won and that Tague had.[22]
In 1922, Fitzgerald unsuccessfully challenged incumbent governor of Massachusetts Channing Cox.
Retirement[edit]
In his later years, Fitzgerald focused on his business interests and on honing the political instincts of his daughter Rose's promising sons.
In 1930, he ran for governor but withdrew late in the race for the Democratic nomination, citing his health. Despite his withdrawal, Fitzgerald received over 84,000 votes against eventual Governor Joseph B. Ely, as James Michael Curley encouraged Irish Catholic voters to support Fitzgerald in solidarity against the supposedly "anti-Irish" Ely.[23]
In 1932, he campaigned for Franklin Delano Roosevelt for President. He was joined by James Michael Curley and P.J. Kennedy. Fitzgerald unsuccessfully tried to recruit Martin Lomasney to the cause as well. After Roosevelt won the election, Fitzgerald's son-in-law Joseph was appointed chairman of the new U.S. Maritime Commission. Joseph would later serve as chairman of the new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and as U.S. ambassador to Great Britain.
In 1942, Fitzgerald ran a quixotic campaign for the U.S. Senate and lost the Democratic primary to Congressman Joseph E. Casey. (Daniel Coakley finished a distant fourth.)
In 1946, when John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy decided to run for Congress, 83-year-old Honey Fitz helped him plan his campaign strategy. At the victory celebration, Fitzgerald danced an Irish jig, sang "Sweet Adeline," and predicted that his grandson would someday occupy the White House. Shortly after his election to the presidency, President Kennedy renamed the presidential yacht the Honey Fitz in honor of his maternal grandfather.
Personal life[edit]
On September 18, 1889, Fitzgerald married his second cousin Mary Josephine "Josie" Hannon (1865–1964). She was a daughter of Michael Hannon and Mary Ann Fitzgerald.[24] John and Mary had six children: Rose (1890–1995), Mary (1892–1936), Thomas (1895–1968), John Jr. (1897–1979), Eunice (1900–1923), and Frederick (1904–1935). They had nineteen grandchildren, including Rose's nine children with Joseph Kennedy.
Fitzgerald was a member of the Royal Rooters, an early supporters' club for Boston's baseball teams, particularly its American League team, the modern Boston Red Sox. At one point, he was the group's chairman and threw out the ceremonial opening pitch at Fenway Park's inaugural game on April 20, 1912, as well as in the 1912 World Series later that year. His great-granddaughter Caroline Kennedy threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park's 100th anniversary celebration on April 20, 2012.[25]
Death[edit]
On October 2, 1950, Fitzgerald died in Boston at the age of eighty-seven. His funeral was one of the largest in the city's history. President Harry S. Truman sent his sympathies and Fitzgerald's pallbearers included two U.S. Senators (Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and Leverett Saltonstall) two future U.S. Speakers of the House (John McCormack and Tip O'Neill), and James Michael Curley. As "Honey Fitz" was carried to his final rest from Holy Cross Cathedral to St. Joseph Cemetery in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, a crowd of thousands gathered along the streets and sang "Sweet Adeline."