{{Short description|American politician (1893–1989)}} {{Infobox officeholder |honorific_prefix = |name = Laurence Curtis |honorific_suffix = |image = Laurence Curtis.jpg |caption = Curtis c. 1961 |state1 = [[Massachusetts]] |district1 = {{ushr|MA|10|10th}} |term_start1 = January 3, 1953 |term_end1 = January 3, 1963 |preceded1 = [[Christian Herter]] |succeeded1 = [[Joseph William Martin Jr.]] (redistricting) |office2 = [[Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts]] |term_start2 = 1947 |term_end2 = 1949 |governor2 = [[Robert F. Bradford]] |preceded2 = [[John E. Hurley]] |succeeded2 = [[John E. Hurley]] |office3 = Member of the [[Massachusetts Senate]] from the 3rd Suffolk District |term3 = 1937–1941 |preceded3 = [[Henry Parkman Jr.]] |succeeded3 = [[Charles John Innes]] |office4 = Member of the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]] |term4 = 1933–1937 |office5 = Member of the [[Boston City Council]] for Ward 5 |term5 = 1930–1933 |preceded5 = Henry Parkman Jr. |succeeded5 = [[Henry Lee Shattuck]] |birth_date = {{birth date|1893|9|3}} |birth_place = [[Boston, Massachusetts]], U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|1989|7|11|1893|9|3}} |death_place = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |resting_place = |resting_place_coordinates = |party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] |spouse = Helen |rank = |allegiance = {{flagicon|USA|1918}} [[United States]] |branch = {{flagicon|USA|navy}} [[United States Navy]] |service_years = |commands = |battles = |awards = [[Citation Star]] |alma_mater = [[Harvard Law School]]<br/>[[Harvard University]] |occupation = [[Lawyer]] |profession = |footnotes = }}
'''Laurence Curtis''' (September 3, 1893 – July 11, 1989) was an American attorney and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] politician from [[Massachusetts]].
==Early life, military service, and education== Laurence Curtis was born in [[Boston, Massachusetts]] on September 3, 1893. He graduated from [[Groton School]] in 1912 and from [[Harvard University]] in 1916.
===Military career=== He served in the Foreign Diplomatic Service. Upon graduation from college, he was commissioned as an officer in the Navy and was injured during an aviation training crash on a [[flying boat]] in Newport News, Virginia,<ref>[[Harvard Magazine|Harvard Alumni Bulletin]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=wCfPAAAAMAAJ&q=Laurence+Curtis&pg=PA262 "Laurence Curtis, 2d, '16"], volume 20, number 1, September 27, 1917, page 258. Retrieved September 17, 2019.</ref> resulting in the loss of a leg. He served out the rest of his time in the military in [[Pensacola, Florida]]. He was awarded the [[Citation Star]]. He was later State Commander and National Senior Vice Commander of the [[Disabled American Veterans]].
He returned to [[Harvard Law School]] and graduated in 1921.
==Legal career== He was admitted to the Massachusetts bar the same year and commenced practice in Boston. He was secretary to [[United States Supreme Court]] Justice [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.]] He served as assistant United States attorney in Boston
==Political career== [[File:1935 Laurence Curtis Massachusetts House of Representatives.png|thumb|left|Curtis as a member of Massachusetts House circa 1935.]] Curtis was elected to the [[Boston City Council]] in 1929. He succeeded [[Henry Parkman Jr.]] in the then-strongly Republican fifth ward, which includes the wealthy [[Back Bay]] and [[Beacon Hill, Boston|Beacon Hill]] neighborhoods. He represented the area in the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]] from 1933 to 1937 and the [[Massachusetts Senate]] from 1937 to 1941.
[[1946 Massachusetts elections#Treasurer and Receiver-General|In 1946]], Curtis was elected Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts. He defeated former Treasurer [[Fred J. Burrell]] in the Republican primary and incumbent Treasurer [[John E. Hurley]] in the general election.<ref>{{cite book |title=Massachusetts Election Statistics 1946 |pages=145 | url=https://archive.org/stream/electionstatisti19461948mass#page/n149/mode/2up }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Massachusetts Election Statistics 1946 |pages=4 | url=https://archive.org/stream/electionstatisti19461948mass#page/n9/mode/2up }}</ref> However, Curtis lost re-election to Hurley in the historic [[Wave elections in the United States|wave election]] of [[1948 Massachusetts elections#Treasurer and Receiver-General|1948]], when the Democratic Party swept all six state offices. Hurley sought a re-match and defeated Curtis by over 230,000 votes.<ref>{{cite book |title=Massachusetts Election Statistics 1948 |pages=3 | url=https://archive.org/stream/electionstatisti19461948mass#page/n455/mode/2up }}</ref>
[[1950 Massachusetts elections#Lieutenant Governor|In 1950]], Curtis was the Republican nominee for [[Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts]]. He won the nomination relatively easily with 46% of the vote over a five-man field, including anti-communist activist [[Robert W. Welch Jr.]] and State Senator [[Harris S. Richardson]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Election Statistics; The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1950 | url=https://archive.org/stream/electionstatisti19501951mass#page/144/mode/2up }}</ref> Though he was the leading Republican candidate on the ballot,<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |date=6 Feb 1952 |title=Herter Pushed for Governor; Laurence Curtis Announces Candidacy for GOP Nomination |pages=1 |work=[[The Berkshire County Eagle]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/533939909/ |access-date=20 Aug 2022}}</ref> Curtis lost the general election to incumbent [[Charles F. Sullivan]] as Republicans failed to erase the Democratic gains of 1948.<ref>{{cite book |title=Election Statistics; The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1950 | url=https://archive.org/stream/electionstatisti19501951mass#page/240/mode/2up }}</ref>
===U.S. Representative=== In 1952, Curtis initially sought election as Governor, calling for a "wholesale clean-up of conditions at the State House that have destroyed the hope of a square deal for Massachusetts citizens."<ref name=":4"/> However, U.S. Representative [[Christian Herter]] was [[draft (politics)|drafted]] by the party establishment for the race instead. Curtis initially vowed to remain in the race before withdrawing, endorsing Herter, and running for Herter's House seat with party support.<ref name=":4"/><ref>{{Cite news |last=Harris |first=John |date=8 Feb 1952 |title=Herter to Run for Governor |pages=1 |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/433373092 |access-date=20 Aug 2022}}</ref>
Curtis was elected to the four succeeding Congresses. He voted in favor of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1957|Civil Rights Acts of 1957]] and [[Civil Rights Act of 1960|1960]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/h42|title=HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/86-1960/h102|title=HR 8601. PASSAGE.}}</ref> but voted present on the [[Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/87-1962/h193|title=S.J. RES. 29. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BAN THE USE OF POLL TAX AS A REQUIREMENT FOR VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref>
===1962 United States Senate campaign=== {{Main|1962 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts}} In 1962, he declined to run for a sixth term in favor of seeking the United States Senate seat left vacant by [[John F. Kennedy]]'s election to the White House. However, he lost the Republican nomination to [[George C. Lodge]].
After his 1962 loss, Curtis resumed the practice of law. He unsuccessfully sought election to the House three more times in 1968, 1970, and 1972.
==Personal life and death== After he retired from office, Curtis was a resident of [[Newton, Massachusetts]] until his death in Boston on July 11, 1989. He was buried at [[Mount Auburn Cemetery]].
== See also == * [[List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 2)]] * Massachusetts legislature: [[1933–1934 Massachusetts legislature|1933–1934]], [[1935–1936 Massachusetts legislature|1935–1936]], [[1937–1938 Massachusetts legislature|1937–1938]], [[1939 Massachusetts legislature|1939]], [[1941–1942 Massachusetts legislature|1941–1942]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{CongBio|C001011}} * ''[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE4DA1E38F930A25754C0A96F948260 Laurence Curtis, 95, Former House Member]''. New York Times (July 13, 1989). *{{Find a Grave|38164227}}
{{s-start}} {{s-ppo}} {{s-bef|before=[[William E. Hurley]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts]]|years=1942}} {{s-aft|rows=2|after=[[Fred J. Burrell]]}} {{s-bef|before=Fred J. Burrell}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts]]|years=1946, 1948}} {{s-bef|before=[[Arthur W. Coolidge]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts]]|years=1950}} {{s-aft|after=[[Sumner G. Whittier]]}} {{s-off}} {{succession box | title=[[Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts]]| before=[[John E. Hurley]]| after=[[John E. Hurley]] | years=January 1947 – January 1949}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Massachusetts | district =10 | before= [[Christian Herter]] | after = [[Joseph William Martin Jr.]] | years= January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1963}} {{s-end}}
{{USRepMA}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Laurence}} [[Category:1893 births]] [[Category:1989 deaths]] [[Category:Groton School alumni]] [[Category:Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey players]] [[Category:Harvard Law School alumni]] [[Category:Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States]] [[Category:Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives]] [[Category:Republican Party Massachusetts state senators]] [[Category:State treasurers of Massachusetts]] [[Category:Boston City Council members]] [[Category:Recipients of the Silver Star]] [[Category:Republican Party United States representatives from Massachusetts]] [[Category:Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery]] [[Category:United States Navy officers]] [[Category:Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents]] [[Category:20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court]] [[Category:20th-century United States representatives]]