Eugene Foss

Eugene Foss

Eugene Noble Foss (born September 24, 1858 in St. Albans , Vermont , † September 13, 1939 in Boston , Massachusetts ) was an American politician and from 1911 to 1914 governor of the state of Massachusetts. Between 1910 and 1911 he represented his state in the US House of Representatives .

Early years and political advancement

Eugene Foss attended Franklin County Academy and then the University of Vermont , from which he did not graduate. He also broke off a subsequent law degree in order to begin a career in the retail business. Initially, he worked as a sales representative for a company. He later became head of his father-in-law's iron and steel company. From 1882 he was based in Boston. Politically, he first became a member of the Republican Party . In June 1904 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in Chicago , at which President Theodore Roosevelt was nominated for another term. Foss then moved to the Democrats , for whom he ran unsuccessfully for the office of lieutenant governor of Massachusetts in 1909 .

Congressman and Governor

Eugene Foss (1915)

After the death of MP William C. Lovering , Foss was elected as his successor to Congress . He held this office between March 22, 1910 and January 4, 1911. That day he stepped down to take up his new post as governor of Massachusetts. In this he was elected on November 8, 1910 with 52:44 percent of the vote against the Republican incumbent Ebenezer Sumner Draper . After a few re-elections he was able to rule as governor between January 5, 1911 and January 8, 1914. A public service pension plan was introduced during this period. A new law controlled campaign spending. The number of judges has increased and their salaries improved. A law on compensation for accidents at work was also passed. During a strike in the textile industry in 1912, the governor used the militia against the strikers. In the 1913 election, Foss was no longer nominated by his party. He then ran as an independent candidate, but had no chance of being elected.

After the end of his governorship, Foss withdrew from politics and returned to his private business, which now also included the real estate market in Boston. He also died in this city in September 1939. Eugene Foss had four children with his wife, Lilla Sturdevant. His younger brother George was also a congressman for Massachusetts.

Web links

• Eugene Foss in the National Governors Association (English)
• Eugene Foss in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Eugene Foss in the database of Find a Grave (English)