Josiah Quincy III

Josiah Quincy III

Josiah Quincy III (born February 4, 1772 in Boston , Province of Massachusetts Bay , †  July 1, 1864 in Quincy , Massachusetts ) was an American politician . Between 1805 and 1813 he represented the state of Massachusetts in the US House of Representatives . He was also Mayor of Boston and President of Harvard University .

Career

Josiah Quincy was the son of Josiah Quincy II (1744–1775), who was an early supporter of the American Revolution . He attended the Phillips Academy in Andover and then studied at Harvard until 1790. After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1793, he began working in this profession in Boston. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Federalist Party . In 1800 and 1802 he ran unsuccessfully for Congress . In 1803 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Between 1804 and 1805 he was a member of the Massachusetts Senate .

In the congressional election of 1804 Quincy was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the first constituency of his state , where he succeeded William Eustis on March 4, 1805 . After three re-elections, he was able to complete four legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1813 . These had been shaped by the events of the British-American War since 1812 .

In 1812, Quincy stopped running for Congress. Between 1813 and 1820 he sat again in the State Senate; in 1821 and 1822 he was a member of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts , as its speaker he served in 1822. In 1820 he was a member of a congregation to revise the Massachusetts Constitution . He then became a municipal judge in Boston in 1822. Between 1823 and 1829 Josiah Quincy was the successor to John Phillips mayor of his hometown, before he then took over the presidency of Harvard University from John Thornton Kirkland . He held this position until 1845. He wrote several historical treatises on this university and the urban development of Boston. Josiah Quincy died in Quincy on July 1, 1864, at the age of 92.

His firstborn son Josiah Jr. (1802-1882) was between 1845 and 1849 mayor of Boston. His grandson of the same name Josiah Quincy (1859-1919) also held this office from 1895 to 1899.

His second-born son Edmund Quincy (1808–1877) published a widely acclaimed biography of Josiah Quincy III in 1867 and published his speeches in 1875.

Web links

• Josiah Quincy III in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Josiah Quincy III in the database of Find a Grave (English)