Edward Boland | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's2nd district | |
| In office January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1989 | |
| Preceded by | Foster Furcolo |
| Succeeded by | Richard Neal |
| Chair of theHouse Intelligence Committee | |
| In office July 14, 1977 – January 3, 1985 | |
| Preceded by | Otis G. Pike |
| Succeeded by | Lee H. Hamilton |
| Register of Deeds ofHampden County | |
| In office 1941–1952 | |
| Preceded by | C. Wesley Hale[1] |
| Succeeded by | John P. Lynch[2] |
| Member of theMassachusetts House of Representatives from the4th Hampden district | |
| In office January 2, 1935 – January 1, 1941 | |
| Preceded by | Edward M. Cawley[3] |
| Succeeded by | Eugene J. Sweeney[4] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward Patrick Boland (1911-10-01)October 1, 1911 |
| Died | November 4, 2001(2001-11-04) (aged 90) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Mary Egan |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Bay Path University Boston College |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942–1946 |
| Rank | Captain[5] |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Edward Patrick Boland (October 1, 1911 – November 4, 2001) was an Americanpolitician from theCommonwealth ofMassachusetts. ADemocrat, he was a representative fromMassachusetts's 2nd congressional district.
Boland's father was anIrish immigrant railroad worker.[6] Boland was born inSpringfield, Massachusetts and graduated fromSpringfield Central High School in 1928. He attendedBay Path Institute andBoston College Law School.
He served in theUnited States Army duringWorld War II.[7]
He was a member of theMassachusetts House of Representatives from 1939 to 1940 and was theHampden Countyregister of deeds from 1941 to 1952.
Boland was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives as aDemocrat in 1952.[7] Congressman Boland was in office during the closing of theSpringfield Armory in 1968, and was harshly criticized for his inability to prevent its closure. This failure resulted in a challenge to Boland in 1968 by Springfield MayorCharles V. Ryan. Boland was re-elected handily with significant help from the family of U.S. SenatorTed Kennedy in what was to be the last challenge to Boland by a major contender. Boland's most famous work as a congressman was the 1982Boland Amendment, which blocked certain funding of theContras inNicaragua after theCentral Intelligence Agency had supervised acts of sabotage without notifyingCongress.[8] Boland lived in a Washington apartment with fellow Massachusetts CongressmanTip O'Neill (whose wife remained in Massachusetts) until 1977.
Boland announced in April 1988 that he would not run for a 19th term later that year; he never lost an election in 50 years as an elected official.[9] Earlier, he'd tipped off Springfield mayorRichard Neal about his pending retirement, allowing Neal to get a significant head start in fundraising.[10] Neal would be unopposed for the Democratic nomination–the real contest in this heavily Democratic district–and has held this seat, now numbered as the1st district, ever since.
Boland married at the age of 62, fathering four children. Boland died in 2001 at the age of 90 from natural causes.[11]
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