Politician. A former mayor and Democratic state party chairman, he was one of the most powerful and influential political leaders in state history and the last of the "old guard" political bosses. A graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and Georgetown Law School, he had an interest in print journalism from a young age. He worked for the Hartford Telegram, a job he reluctantly gave up to pursue his law career. He later had a one-third interest in the Hartford Sunday Globe and was owner of the Hartford Evening Post. He began practicing law in 1903 and three years later he set out to change a law that found an employee of his client, Standard Oil, being convicted (he thought unjustly) for selling below-grade oil. That led to his election to the state Senate, where he was successful in changing the law. He lost in 1908 but was re-elected in 1910. In 1912 he unsuccessfully ran for mayor of the city of Hartford. Two years later he lost a primary challenge in the mayoral election. In 1915 he was appointed U.S. District Attorney, heading a large organization to prevent sabatoge in the state, where more than half of the country's small arms were being produced at local factories. From that position he was chosen in 1918 to be a civilian member of the commission with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt to adjust claims in Europe against the Navy. He later served as assistant attorney general in charge of alien property custodian work from 1919 to 1921. A force within the Democratic party, he ran for governor in 1918, losing to incumbent Marcus Holcomb. Three years later he lost his bid for the U.S. Senate. In 1936 he was chosen by the Hartford Common Council to fill the remainder of the term of Mayor John Pilgard, who died after nine days in office. He won a term in his own right the following year and was re-elected in 1939 and 1941 and became Hartford's first four-term mayor in more than 60 years. He resigned in 1943. A year later he sought but did not receive his party's nomination for the U.S. Senate and in 1945 lost his re-election bid for Hartford mayor. A delegate to five Democratic National Conventions, he was pushed out as chairman of the state Democratic party in 1946. At the time of his death he had been a state insurance commissioner for two years. He died of a heart attack in his room at the Hotel Commodore while attending a covention of insurance commissioners in New York City.

Politician. A former mayor and Democratic state party chairman, he was one of the most powerful and influential political leaders in state history and the last of the "old guard" political bosses. A graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and Georgetown Law School, he had an interest in print journalism from a young age. He worked for the Hartford Telegram, a job he reluctantly gave up to pursue his law career. He later had a one-third interest in the Hartford Sunday Globe and was owner of the Hartford Evening Post. He began practicing law in 1903 and three years later he set out to change a law that found an employee of his client, Standard Oil, being convicted (he thought unjustly) for selling below-grade oil. That led to his election to the state Senate, where he was successful in changing the law. He lost in 1908 but was re-elected in 1910. In 1912 he unsuccessfully ran for mayor of the city of Hartford. Two years later he lost a primary challenge in the mayoral election. In 1915 he was appointed U.S. District Attorney, heading a large organization to prevent sabatoge in the state, where more than half of the country's small arms were being produced at local factories. From that position he was chosen in 1918 to be a civilian member of the commission with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt to adjust claims in Europe against the Navy. He later served as assistant attorney general in charge of alien property custodian work from 1919 to 1921. A force within the Democratic party, he ran for governor in 1918, losing to incumbent Marcus Holcomb. Three years later he lost his bid for the U.S. Senate. In 1936 he was chosen by the Hartford Common Council to fill the remainder of the term of Mayor John Pilgard, who died after nine days in office. He won a term in his own right the following year and was re-elected in 1939 and 1941 and became Hartford's first four-term mayor in more than 60 years. He resigned in 1943. A year later he sought but did not receive his party's nomination for the U.S. Senate and in 1945 lost his re-election bid for Hartford mayor. A delegate to five Democratic National Conventions, he was pushed out as chairman of the state Democratic party in 1946. At the time of his death he had been a state insurance commissioner for two years. He died of a heart attack in his room at the Hotel Commodore while attending a covention of insurance commissioners in New York City.