John F. Fitzgerald

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For the American author John Fitzgerald, see John D. Fitzgerald. For others, see John Fitzgerald

John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald (February 11, 1863 – October 2, 1950) was a politician and the maternal grandfather of US President John F. Kennedy.

Early life and family

Fitzgerald was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Irish immigrants, Thomas Fitzgerald and Rosanna Cox. He was the fourth of twelve children; of his siblings, both sisters died in infancy, as did his eldest brother; three were totally wasted by alcoholism with a further two (Michael and Edward) having severe alcohol problems as well; Joseph, the ninth brother, had severe brain damage from malaria and barely functioned. Thus only three survived in good health and after John's mother died when he was sixteen, his father wished for him to become a doctor to help prevent future tragedies of the sort that had marred the Fitzgerald family. Accordingly, after being educated at Boston Latin School, he enrolled at Harvard Medical School for one year, but withdrew following the death of his father in 1885. Fitzgerald later became a clerk at the Customs House in Boston and was active in the local Democratic Party.

Marriage

In September 18, 1889, Fitzgerald married Mary Josephine Hannon.

Children

Name	Birth	Death	Age	Notes
Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald	July 22 1890	January 22 1995	104 years	Married on October 7 1914 to Joseph P. Kennedy; had issue.
Mary Agnes Fitzgerald	November 1 1892	September 17 1936	43 years	Married on April 29 1929 to Joseph F. Gargan; had issue.
Thomas Acton Fitzgerald	April 19 1895	1968	73 years	Married on September 7, 1921 to Marion D. Reardon (died February 7, 1925). Married again on October 11 1930 to Margaret B. Fitzpatrick.
John Francis Fitzgerald	December 7 1897	1979	79 years	Married on April 28 1928 to Catherine O'Hearn.
Eunice Fitzgerald	January 26 1900	September 25 1923	23 years
Frederick Harold Fitzgerald	December 3 1904	February 1935	30 years	Married on October 26, 1929 to Rosalind Miller.

Political life

He was elected to Boston's Common Council in 1891. In 1892, he became a member of the Massachusetts Senate, and in 1894, he was elected to Congress for the 9th district, serving from 1895 to 1901. In 1906, Fitzgerald was elected Mayor of Boston, becoming the first American-born Irish-Catholic to be elected to that office. Fitzgerald served as mayor of Boston from 1906 to 1908, was defeated for re-election, but returned to the office again from 1910 to 1914.

Of his stylish manner, Robert Dallek wrote: "He was a natural politician—a charming, impish, affable lover of people... . His warmth of character earned him yet another nickname, "Honey Fitz," and he gained a reputation as the only politician who could sing "Sweet Adeline" sober and get away with it. A pixie-like character with florid face, bright eyes, and sandy hair, he was a showman who could have had a career in vaudeville. But politics, with all the brokering that went into arranging alliances and the hoopla that went into campaigning, was his calling. A verse of the day ran: 'Honey Fitz can talk you blind / on any subject you can find / Fish and fishing, motor boats / Railroads, streetcars, getting votes.' His gift of gab became known as Fitzblarney, and his followers as "dearos," a shortened version of his description of his district as 'the dear old North End.'"

He was for years the most prominent political figure in the city of Boston, where Patrick J. Kennedy was a more behind-the-scenes Democratic Party figure. P.J. Kennedy opposed Fitzgerald when the latter first ran for mayor, but they later became allies. In 1914, these two powerful political families (Kennedy and Fitzgerald) were united when Patrick Kennedy's son Joe married Fitzgerald's daughter Rose.

From March 4, 1919 to October 23, 1919, he again served in Congress, now for the 10th district, until Peter F. Tague successfully contested the election. Fitzgerald was an unsuccessful candidate for the offices of Senate in 1916 and Governor in 1922. His opponent was Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr. Interestingly, in 1952, Fitzgerald's grandson John F. Kennedy defeated Lodge's grandson Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. for the same seat. Furthermore, in 1960 Lodge, Jr. was the unsuccessful U.S. Vice-Presidential candidate in the ticket in which Kennedy was elected President.

References

External links

• Congressional Biography

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