# William J. Foley

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_J._Foley
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_J._Foley.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Foley
> Source revision: 1333413302
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**William J. Foley** (March 2, 1887 – December 1, 1952) was an American attorney and politician who served as District Attorney of [Suffolk County, Massachusetts](/source/Suffolk_County,_Massachusetts) from 1927 until his death 1952.

## Early life and educati9n

Foley was born on March 2, 1887, in [South Boston](/source/South_Boston), to Patrick A. Foley and Julia ([née](/source/N%C3%A9e) Hayes) Foley.[1] He attended [South Boston High School](/source/South_Boston_High_School) and [The English High School](/source/The_English_High_School).[2] He graduated from the [Boston University School of Law](/source/Boston_University_School_of_Law) in 1908 and began practicing law that year.[3]

## Career

A [Democrat](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)), Foley was a member of the [Massachusetts House of Representatives](/source/Massachusetts_House_of_Representatives) from 1915 to 1919. He then served in the [Massachusetts Senate](/source/Massachusetts_Senate) from 1919 to 1921 and on the [Massachusetts Governor's Council](/source/Massachusetts_Governor's_Council) from 1921 to 1923.[4] In 1927, he defeated incumbent [Thomas C. O'Brien](/source/Thomas_C._O'Brien) to become District Attorney of Suffolk County.[2] In 1933, he unsuccessfully ran for [Mayor of Boston](/source/Mayor_of_Boston). He finished a close third behind [Frederick Mansfield](/source/Frederick_Mansfield) and [Malcolm Nichols](/source/Malcolm_Nichols).[5] He ran again in 1937 and finished fourth behind [Maurice J. Tobin](/source/Maurice_J._Tobin), [James Michael Curley](/source/James_Michael_Curley), and Nichols.[6]

## Personal life and death

Foley was Catholic. In 1922, he married Theresa Liston;[1] they had two children together, including [William J. Foley Jr.](/source/William_J._Foley_Jr.), who went on to become a lawyer.[2] Foley was found dead in his home on December 1, 1952, aged 65. The cause of death was a heart attack. Foley's first assistant, [Garrett H. Byrne](/source/Garrett_H._Byrne), was chosen by Governor [Paul A. Dever](/source/Paul_A._Dever) to succeed him as district attorney, despite pressure to give the job to the younger Foley or another well known political figure.[7]

## See also

- [1915 Massachusetts legislature](/source/1915_Massachusetts_legislature)
- [1916 Massachusetts legislature](/source/1916_Massachusetts_legislature)
- [1917 Massachusetts legislature](/source/1917_Massachusetts_legislature)
- [1918 Massachusetts legislature](/source/1918_Massachusetts_legislature)
- [1919 Massachusetts legislature](/source/1919_Massachusetts_legislature)
- [1920 Massachusetts legislature](/source/1920_Massachusetts_legislature)

## References

1. ["The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Fogle to Folse"](https://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/fogleson-folse.html#710.47.11). *politicalgraveyard.com*. Retrieved 2026-01-17.

1. "Dist. Atty. Foley Dead of Heart Attack at 65". *The Boston Globe*. December 2, 1952.

1. "William J. Foley". *The New York Times*. December 2, 1952.

1. *Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1921-22*

1. "Mansfield Beats Nichols by 2397". *The Boston Daily Globe*. November 8, 1933.

1. [*Annual Report of the Election Department*](https://archive.org/stream/annualreportofbo1937bost#page/40/mode/2up). Boston [Election Dept.] 1937. p. 40.

1. Farrell, David (November 6, 1977). "Byrne to soon mark 25 years as district attorney". *The Boston Globe*

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [William J. Foley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Foley) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Foley?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.