John L. Bates

John L. Bates

John Lewis Bates (born September 18, 1859 in Easton , Bristol County , Massachusetts , †  June 8, 1946 in Boston , Massachusetts) was an American politician and governor of the state of Massachusetts from 1903 to 1905 .

Early years and political advancement

John Bates attended the public schools of his home country and then until 1882 Boston University . After a subsequent law degree at the School of Law of this university, he was admitted to the bar in 1885. He then began to work in this profession in Boston. Politically, he became a member of the Republican Party . Between 1894 and 1899 he sat as a member of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts , as its speaker he served from 1897; From 1900 to 1903 he was Vice Governor Deputy Governor Winthrop M. Crane , to whose successor he was elected on November 4, 1902. He prevailed against the Democrat William A. Gaston with 49:40 percent of the vote .

Massachusetts Governor

John Bates took up his new office on January 8, 1903 and was able to exercise it until January 5, 1905 after re-election in 1903 against his future successor William Lewis Douglas . During this time, his appointment of Judge Emmons as police chief of the city of Boston was very controversial, because Boston would have preferred its own candidate. Bates was also at times suspected of having accepted bribes from a lobbyist.

After the end of his governorship, Bates remained politically active and practiced as a lawyer. From 1917 to 1919 he chaired a commission to revise the state constitution of Massachusetts. Bates was also a member of the American Bar Association. He died in June 1946 at the age of 86. He had three children with his wife, Clara Elizabeth Smith.

Web links

• John Bates in the National Governors Association (English)
• John L. Bates at The Political Graveyard