Maurice J. Tobin
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| Maurice Joseph Tobin | |
 The official portrait of Maurice J. Tobin hangs in the Department of Labor |
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| In office January 3, 1945 – January 2, 1947 |
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| Lieutenant(s) | Robert F. Bradford |
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| Preceded by | Leverett Saltonstall |
| Succeeded by | Robert F. Bradford |
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| Born | May 22, 1901 Mission Hill, Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | July 19, 1953 (aged 52) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Profession | Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Maurice Joseph Tobin (May 22, 1901–July 19, 1953) was a Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts, and U.S. Secretary of Labor.
Tobin was born in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, MA. The son of a carpenter, he graduated from Boston College before entering politics as a protege of the legendary James Michael Curley.
Tobin was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives at the age of 25, serving from 1927 to 1929. He served on the Boston School Committee from 1931 to 1937, before shocking the political establishment by defeating Curley in the 1937 race for Mayor of Boston. He served as Mayor from 1938 to 1945, during which time he advocated the Fair Employment Practices Bill, which prohibited discrimination based on race, color, creed, and national origin in hiring or promotion practices.
In 1944, Tobin was elected Governor, and served two years from 1945 to 1947. His administration was marked by efforts to increase the benefits of unemployment insurance and workers compensation. He is also credited with the creation of Massport. In 1946, he was defeated for re-election by his Lieutenant Governor, Robert F. Bradford.
Governor Tobin remained active in Democratic politics, however, and campaigned vigorously for President Truman in 1948. Upon his election, Truman appointed Tobin as U.S. Secretary of Labor, a position he held from 1948 to 1953. Shortly after he left his position as Labor Secretary, Governor Tobin died on July 19, 1953. He is buried in Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts.
New mens dormitory facilities were built at the Long Island Hospital campus on Long Island, in Boston Harbor, and dedicated to Mayor Tobin as the Tobin building, the cornerstone having been laid on November 9, 1940. [1]
In 1967, the Mystic River Bridge was renamed the "Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge", to honor the former governor, who ordered the bridge to be built during his one term in office.
[edit] Notes
- ^ as written on a dedicatory plaque in the Tobin Building
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Frederick Mansfield |
Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts 1938 - 1945 |
Succeeded by John E. Kerrigan |
| Preceded by Leverett Saltonstall |
Governor of Massachusetts January 3, 1945 – January 2, 1947 |
Succeeded by Robert F. Bradford |
| Preceded by Lewis B. Schwellenbach |
United States Secretary of Labor August 13, 1948 – January 20, 1953 |
Succeeded by Martin P. Durkin |
| United States Secretaries of Labor |  |
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| Secretaries of Commerce & Labor: Cortelyou • Metcalf • Straus • Nagel
Secretaries of Labor: Wilson • Davis • Doak • Perkins • Schwellenbach • Tobin • Durkin • Mitchell • Goldberg • Wirtz • Shultz • Hodgson • Brennan • Dunlop • Usery • Marshall • Donovan • Brock • McLaughlin • Dole • Martin • Reich • Herman • Chao |
