| John Anthony Volpe | |
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| In office January 22, 1969 – February 1, 1973 |
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| President | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | Alan S. Boyd |
| Succeeded by | Claude Brinegar |
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61st & 63rd Governor of Massachusetts
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| In office January 5, 1961 – January 3, 1963 January 7, 1965 – January 22, 1969 |
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| Lieutenant | Edward F. McLaughlin, Jr. Elliot Richardson Francis W. Sargent |
| Preceded by | Foster Furcolo Endicott Peabody |
| Succeeded by | Endicott Peabody Francis W. Sargent |
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| In office March 6, 1973 – January 24, 1977 |
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| Preceded by | Graham Martin |
| Succeeded by | Richard N. Gardner |
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| Born | December 8, 1908 Wakefield, Massachusetts, United States |
| Died | November 11, 1994 (aged 85) |
| Resting place | Forest Glade Cemetery, Wakefield, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Jennie Volpe |
| Children | John Volpe Jr. Jean (Volpe) Rotondi |
| Alma mater | Wentworth Institute of Technology |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Unit | Seabees Instructor |
John Anthony Volpe (December 8, 1908 – November 11, 1994) was a Governor of Massachusetts and a U.S. Secretary of Transportation.
Volpe was born in 1908 in Wakefield, Massachusetts.[1] He was the son of Italian immigrants Vito and Filomena (Benedetto), who had come from Abruzzo to Boston's North End in 1905; his father was in the construction business. On June 18, 1934, Volpe married Jennie Benedetto, with whom he had two children, John, Jr. and Jean (m. Rotondi).
Volpe attended the Wentworth Institute (now Wentworth Institute of Technology) in Boston and entered the construction business, building his own firm in 1930. During World War II, he volunteered to serve stateside as a United States Navy Seabees training officer. In 1953, he was appointed as the Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Works, and in 1956 he was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as the first Federal Highway Administrator.
He was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 1960, and served from 1961 to 1963, before narrowly losing reelection in 1962 to Endicott Peabody. In 1964, he ran for Governor again and won, and was re-elected in 1966 for the first four-year term in Massachusetts history.
During his administration, Governor Volpe signed legislation to ban racial imbalances in education, reorganized the state's Board of Education, liberalized birth control laws, and increased public housing for low-income families. Governor Volpe also raised revenues by increasing the state sales tax to three percent. He served as President of the National Governor's Association from 1967 to 1968.
In 1968, Governor Volpe ran unsuccessfully as a "Favorite son" candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. He was defeated in the state presidential primary by a spontaneous write-in campaign for New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller. It was widely believed that he was hoping to be chosen as his party's candidate for Vice President.
Following the election of Richard M. Nixon, Volpe was named Secretary of Transportation. He resigned as Governor to assume the cabinet post, and served in that position from 1969 to 1973. During his administration as Secretary of Transportation, Amtrak was created. 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.
Governor Volpe died in 1994, and is buried in Forest Glade Cemetery in Wakefield. 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.
The papers of John A. Volpe are in the Archives and Special Collections of the Northeastern University Libraries, in Boston MA.
References
- ^ "John Volpe, The Life of An Immigrant's Son", Kathleen Kilgore, Yankee Books, 1987, pages 19-20
External links
- Official Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governor Biography
- The papers of John Volpe are located in the Archives and Special Collections, Northeastern University Libraries, Boston, MA.
| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded by New Office |
Federal Highway Administrator October, 1956 – February, 1957 |
Succeeded by Bertram D. Tallamy |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Foster Furcolo |
Governor of Massachusetts January 5, 1961 – January 3, 1963 |
Succeeded by Endicott Peabody |
| Preceded by Endicott Peabody |
Governor of Massachusetts January 7, 1965 – January 22, 1969 |
Succeeded by Francis W. Sargent (as Acting Governor) |
| Preceded by Alan S. Boyd |
United States Secretary of Transportation January 22, 1969 – February 1, 1973 |
Succeeded by Claude S. Brinegar |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Graham Martin |
United States Ambassador to Italy March 6, 1973 – January 24, 1977 |
Succeeded by Richard N. Gardner |
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