William Francis Murray

{{Infobox officeholder |name= William Francis Murray |image= William Francis Murray U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and the Postmaster of Boston.png | image_size = | caption =William Francis Murray circa 1912<ref>{{Citation|title=Who's who in State Politics, 1912 |page = 24 |publisher=Practical Politics |location=Boston, MA |year=1912}}</ref>

| office1 = Member of the<br>U.S. House of Representatives<br> from Massachusetts | term_start1 = March 4, 1911 | term_end1 = September 28, 1914 | predecessor1 = John A. Keliher | successor1 = Peter Francis Tague | constituency1 = 9th district (1911–13)<br>10th district (1913–14)

|birth_date= {{birth date|1881|9|7}} |birth_place= Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |death_date= {{death date and age|1918|9|21|1881|9|7}} |death_place=Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |party= Democratic |profession=Attorney | alma_mater = Harvard College<br>Harvard Law School |spouse= |footnotes= |branch= |service_years=1898 |rank=Corporal |unit=United States Volunteer Signal Corps |battles = Spanish–American War |awards= }} '''William Francis Murray''' (September 7, 1881 – September 21, 1918) was a U.S. representative from Massachusetts and the Postmaster of Boston.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Murray attended the public schools and the Boston Latin School. He graduated from Harvard University in 1904 and Harvard Law School in 1906. He practiced law in Boston. He served as a United States Volunteer Signal Corps corporal during the Spanish-American War. He served as a member of the Boston Common Council in 1904 and 1905. He served as a member of the State House of Representatives in 1907 and 1908. He served as a member of the Governor's council in 1910

==Election to Congress== Murray challenged incumbent and fellow Democrat John A. Keliher in 1910. He defeated Keliher in both the primary and general. At age 29, Murray was the youngest member of the Sixty-second Congress. He was reelected to the Sixty-third Congress where he was a strong backer of Woodrow Wilson. He served as a member of Congress from March 4, 1911, until September 28, 1914, when he resigned, having been appointed postmaster of Boston <ref>{{cite web |title=Baby-faced Representative William F. Murray of Massachusetts |url=https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1901-1950/Baby-faced-Representative-William-F--Murray-of-Massachusetts/ |publisher=Office of the Historian, House of Representatives |access-date=1 April 2026}}</ref>.

==Postmaster of Boston== On June 19, 1914, President Wilson nominated Murray for the position of Postmaster of Boston.<ref>{{Citation |title =WM. F. Murray To Be Named For Postoffice Here: Charlestown Congressman's Name to Be Sent to Senate at Once by President Wilson, It Is Said |page=1 |work=The Christian Science Monitor |location=Boston, MA |date=June 19, 1914}}</ref> The Senate Confirmed the nomination on July 16, 1914.<ref>{{Citation |title =WM. F. Murray Is Confirmed |page=1 |work=The Christian Science Monitor |location=Boston, MA |date=July 22, 1914}}</ref> Murray served as postmaster from October 1, 1914, until his death on September 21, 1918.

==Death== In the Autumn of 1918, Murray contracted the Spanish flu<ref>{{Citation |title =Harvard Alumni Bulletin Vol XXL, Number 3. |page=70 |publisher=The Harvard Bulletin, Inc. |location=Boston, MA |date=October 10, 1918}}</ref> and died from pneumonia at Boston City Hospital at 11:40 on the night of September 21, 1918.<ref>{{Citation |title =Postmaster Murray Dies of Pneumonia: Boston Loses Beloved Citizen and Nation a Faithful Official |page=1 |work=The Boston Daily Globe |location=Boston, MA |date=September 22, 1918}}</ref>

==Burial== Murray was interred in Holyhood Cemetery, the Chestnut Hill section of Brookline, Massachusetts.<ref>{{Citation |title =Final Tribute To Postmaster Murray |page=12 |work=The Boston Daily Globe |location=Boston, MA |date=September 25, 1918}}</ref>

==References== <references />

==Bibliography== * ''Who's who in State Politics, 1912'' Practical Politics (1912) p. 24. {{CongBio|M001117}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Massachusetts | district=10 | district_ord=10th | before=James M. Curley | after=Peter Tague | years= March 4, 1913 – September 28, 1914}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, William Francis}} Category:1881 births Category:1918 deaths Category:Harvard College alumni Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Category:United States Army non-commissioned officers Category:Deaths from the Spanish flu pandemic in Massachusetts Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Massachusetts Category:Boston Latin School alumni Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Massachusetts Category:Burials at Holyhood Cemetery (Brookline) Category:Politicians from Boston Category:American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Category:20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court Category:20th-century United States representatives