Benjamin Loring Young (November 7, 1885 – June 4, 1964) of

Weston, Massachusetts Weston is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, about 15 miles west of Boston. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, the population of Weston was 11,851. Weston was incorporated in 1713, and protectio ...

was a US

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and politician who served as the

Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives This is a list of speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. The Speaker of the House presides over the House of Representatives. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation of the full House through ...

from 1921 to 1924. Born in Weston in 1885, Young graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1907 and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1911. Following nine years of legal practice, Young retired from the law. In 1910, Young was elected a Selectman of the Town of

, a position he held for thirty-six years. Young was elected as a Republican to the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

in 1915, serving from 1916–24. Young served on the Ways and Means Committee in 1916, and as the chairman of the Recess Committee on State Finances in 1917. In

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

, Young ran unsuccessfully for US Senator. Young was on the Board of Parole and Advisory Board of Pardons for the State Prison and Massachusetts Reformatory from 1913 to 1915, and the chairman of the State Board of Probation from 1927–42, a US

Referee in Bankruptcy A Referee in Bankruptcy or Bankruptcy Referee was a federal official with quasi-judicial powers, appointed by a United States district court to administer bankruptcy proceedings, prior to 1979. The office was first created by the Bankruptcy Act o ...

from 1925–41, and a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers from 1922-28. On June 26, 1933 Young was a delegate to, and the president of, the Massachusetts Convention that ratified the

Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution The Twenty-first Amendment (Amendment XXI) to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide prohibition on alcohol. The Twenty-first Amendment was proposed by ...

. Young married Mary Coolidge Hall in 1908; they divorced in 1935. They had four children: Barbara,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, Lorraine, and Benjamin Loring, Jr. He died in Boston on June 4, 1964.

References

Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives 1885 births 1964 deaths Harvard Law School alumni People from Weston, Massachusetts Massachusetts lawyers 20th-century American politicians Harvard College alumni 20th-century American lawyers {{Massachusetts-MARepresentative-stub

See also

References