Leverett Saltonstall
Leverett A. Saltonstall (September 1, 1892 – June 17, 1979) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served three two-year terms as the 55th Governor of Massachusetts, and for more than twenty years as a United States senator (1945–1967). Saltonstall was internationalist in foreign policy and moderate on domestic policy, serving as a well-liked mediating force in the Republican Party. He was the only member of the Republican Senate leadership to vote for the censure of Joseph McCarthy.
"Senator Saltonstall" redirects here. For other uses, see Senator Saltonstall (disambiguation).
Leverett Saltonstall
Earle C. Clements
Earle C. Clements
September 1, 1892
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, U.S.
June 17, 1979 (aged 86)
Dover, Massachusetts, U.S.
Salty
1917−1919
Military service and early political career[edit]
After graduation, Saltonstall entered the United States Army.[4] He served as a first lieutenant in the 301st Field Artillery Regiment in the 76th Division in World War I, spending six months in France. He was discharged in 1919,[9] and then entered the law firm of his uncle.[4]
Saltonstall, a socially progressive Republican, entered politics as an alderman in Newton, Massachusetts, serving from 1920 to 1922, while simultaneously serving as second assistant district attorney of Middlesex County under his uncle, Endicott Peabody Saltonstall, from 1921 to 1922. He was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives that same year; there he rose to the position of Speaker of the House, which he held from 1929 to 1937.[4]
In 1930 Saltonstall became a compatriot of the Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
In 1916, Saltonstall married Alice Wesselhoeft (1893–1981) of Jaffrey, New Hampshire. Together they had six children,[4] including:
Death and legacy[edit]
Saltonstall opted not to run for reelection in 1966, in part to provide an opportunity for his seat to Edward Brooke, a rising star in Massachusetts Republican circles. He retired to his farm in Dover, where he spent his remaining years as a gentleman farmer.[10]
Leverett Saltonstall died of congestive heart failure in 1979 aged 86, and is buried in Harmony Grove Cemetery in Salem, Massachusetts. The Saltonstall Building in downtown Boston is named for him.