John
Francis Fitzgerald, the son of Irish
immigrants, was born in Boston on 11th
February, 1863. After graduating from the Boston Latin School he attended
Harvard Medical School for a year but
had to leave to take care of his six brothers when his father died.
Fitzgerald obtained a position at the Boston Custom House (1886-1891).
He was also active in the Democratic Party
and in 1892 became a member of the Massachusetts Senate. Three years
later he was elected to Congress (4th March, 1895 to 3rd March, 1901).
In 1906 Fitzgerald became the mayor of Boston.
In doing so, Fitzgerald became the first mayor in the United States
whose parents had been born in Ireland. He now joined forces with
his former rival, Patrick Joseph Kennedy,
to run the city. Fitzgerald's daughter, Rose
Fitzgerald, was later to marry Kennedy's son, Joseph
Patrick Kennedy: the parents of John
Fitzgerald Kennedy, Robert Kennedy
and Edward Kennedy.
Fitzgerald had two spells as mayor (1906-08 and 1910-14) and was an
unsuccessful candidate for Governor in 1922. Fitzgerald, an investment
banker, also served as a member of the Port of Boston Authority (1934-1948).
John Francis Fitzgerald died in Boston
on 2nd October, 1950.
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