Bradford, Robert Fiske, 1902-1983

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Robert Fiske Bradford (December 15, 1902 – March 18, 1983) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as the 57th Governor of Massachusetts, from 1947 to 1949.

Robert Fiske Bradford was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Edward and Edith (Fiske) Bradford. His father was from an old traditional New England Yankee Brahmin family, a successful physician, and dean of Harvard Medical School, and his mother was the founder of the private Fiske School in Boston. Through an entirely paternal line he was a descendant of Mayflower passenger William Bradford, Governor of the Plymouth Colony in the 17th century. Bradford attended the Browne and Nichols School, and graduated from Harvard College in 1923. While at Harvard, Bradford was on the varsity crew team, and served as editor of The Harvard Crimson. In 1926 he received his law degree from Harvard Law School, was admitted to the bar, and began to practice law in Boston at Ropes & Gray. That same year he married Rebecca Crowninshield Browne; the couple had four children.

A Republican, Bradford entered politics by serving as executive secretary to Governor Joseph Ely, a conservative Democrat with whom he served as an associate at Ropes & Gray. After Ely left office in 1935, the two founded a law firm. He later worked on the gubernatorial and senatorial campaigns of Leverett Saltonstall, with whom he formed a close friendship. In 1938, he made his first bid for elective office by challenging Republican incumbent Warren L. Bishop in the race for District Attorney of Middlesex County. He defeated Bishop and served in that position from 1939 to 1945. In this post he gained a reputation for cracking down on corruption; his convictions included mayors of Lowell and Cambridge, and a state public works commissioner.

In 1944 he won election as lieutenant governor, serving under Democratic Governor Maurice J. Tobin. In 1946, Bradford challenged and defeated Tobin, and served one term as governor, from 1947 to 1949. In the contest, Bradford was supported by Democrat James Michael Curley, who was contesting with Tobin for control of the state Democratic party apparatus. As governor, Bradford governed in the fashion of his mentor, Leverett Saltonstall, with an emphasis on fiscal conservatism and social liberalism. During his administration, he advanced balanced budgets and intervened to prevent protracted strikes, which would be deleterious to the interests of business and the broader public. His administration worked to promote public housing for veterans and prevent alcoholism through treatment and prevention programs. In 1947, he chaired the "Silent Guest" program in which Americans were encouraged to donate the cash equivalent of one setting of Thanksgiving dinner to the starving poor in post-war Europe. He also introducted a master plan for improving the state's roadways, and enacted legislation to greatly expand the state's agricultural school in Amherst, which was renamed University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The funding plan for the highway plan involved the floating of bond, and was rejected by the Democratic-controlled legislature but approved under his successor, Democrat Paul A. Dever. Bradford was narrowly defeated in his bid for re-election in 1948 by Dever, a former Massachusetts Attorney General, in a Democratic landslide.

After leaving office, Bradford returned to the private practice of law. He was also involved in charitable, philanthropic, and educational organizations, serving as President of Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts, on the boards of Harvard and Simmons Colleges, and on the board of Massachusetts Eye and Ear. He served as senior warden for the congregation at Boston's King's Chapel. He suffered for many years from Parkinson's disease, but maintained a busy schedule despite its limitations.

Composer Leroy Anderson, who wrote such classics as "Sleigh Ride" and "Blue Tango", wrote a piece entitled "Governor Bradford March". It was premiered on July 6, 1948, in a concert by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler, at which Governor Bradford made a special appearance.

He died on March 18, 1983 in Boston, Massachusetts, and was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Magnolia Avenue, Lot 3112.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Howe, Mark De Wolfe. Mark De Wolfe Howe papers. 1933-1967. Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Sheldon Glueck papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
creatorOf Bradford, Robert Fiske, 1902- , Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Letters, 1948, March 23-April 15, Boston, to Colonel G. A. Taylor, Old Hadley, Massachusetts. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
referencedIn United States. Army. Signal Corps,. U.S. Army National Guard, 26th Yankee Division scrapbook [photographs], 1947. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Lucien Price notebooks and correspondence, 1901-1964. Houghton Library
referencedIn Magruder, Calvert, 1893-1968. Papers. 1920-1965 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn John Mason Brown papers, 1922-1967. Houghton Library
creatorOf Bradford, Robert Fiske, 1902-1983. Robert Fiske Bradford papers, 1909-1971. Massachusetts Historical Society
creatorOf Bradford, Robert F. Address of Robert F. Bradford : commencement exercises, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, May 21, 1945. Mount Holyoke College, Williston & Miles-Smith Library
referencedIn John Mason Brown papers, 1922-1967. Houghton Library
referencedIn Van Waters, Miriam, 1887-1974. Papers, 1861-1971 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Frederick M. Dearborn collection of military and political Americana, Part I: The Revolution and the Administration, 1669-1958. Houghton Library
referencedIn Roscoe Pound Papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Harvard University Archives Photograph Collection: Portraits, ca. 1852-ca. 2004 Harvard University Archives.
creatorOf FLEMING PAPERS. Col. CXVII. Memoranda, etc., relating to Fleming collected by André Maurois; 1942, n.d.Chiefly typewritten copies.André Maurois was employed by Amalia Fleming to write a biography about Fleming resulting in The Life of Sir Alexander F..., 1942 British Library
creatorOf Brooks, Lawrence Graham, 1881-1981. Papers, 1897-1981. Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Sheldon Glueck papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Lawrence Graham Brooks papers, 1897-1981 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Van Waters, Miriam, 1887-1974. Papers, 1861-1971 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Bradford family. family
associatedWith Bradford, Rebecca Crowninshield Browne, 1904- person
associatedWith Brooks, Lawrence Graham, 1881-1981. person
associatedWith Browne family. family
associatedWith Brown, John Mason, 1900-1969 person
associatedWith Buckingham, Browne & Nichols. corporateBody
associatedWith Chamberlain family. family
associatedWith Dearborn, Frederick M. (Frederick Myers), b. 1876 person
associatedWith Glueck, Sheldon, 1896- person
associatedWith Harvard Law School corporateBody
associatedWith Harvard University corporateBody
associatedWith Howe, Mark De Wolfe, 1906-1967 person
associatedWith Lafitte, Jean Jacques, ca. 1779- . person
associatedWith Magruder, Calvert, 1893-1968 person
associatedWith Massachusetts. Governor (1945-1947 : Tobin) corporateBody
associatedWith Massachusetts. Governor (1947-1948 : Bradford) corporateBody
associatedWith Massachusetts. Lieutenant Governor (1945-1946 : Bradford) corporateBody
associatedWith Mount Holyoke College corporateBody
correspondedWith Pound, Roscoe, 1870-1964 person
correspondedWith Price, Lucien, 1883-1964 person
associatedWith Taylor, G. A., Colonel, person
associatedWith Tobin, Maurice J. person
associatedWith Van Waters, Miriam, 1887-1974 person
associatedWith Williams, Arthur H. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Boston MA US
Boston MA US
Subject
United States
Political campaigns
Children
Democracy
Governors
Lawyers
New Orleans, Battle of, New Orleans, La., 1815
Proclamations
Public prosecutors
Statesmen
Statesmen's spouses
Voyages and travels
Occupation
Attorney
Governor
Lawyer
Policians
Activity

Person

Birth 1902-12-15

Death 1983-03-18

Male

Americans

English

Information

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