Robert Henry Quinn (1928-2014) was a

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

attorney and politician.

Early life

Quinn was born January 30, 1928, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the youngest of seven children. When Quinn was six his father died. Quinn received a scholarship to

Boston College High School , motto_translation = ''So they may know You.'' , address = 150 Morrissey Boulevard , city = Boston , state = Massachusetts , zipcode = 02125 , country ...

and attended

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

on a football scholarship. While at BC, he was stricken with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and it was believed that he would die. Quinn recovered after spending three years in the hospital. He went on to finish college and graduated from

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 1955.

Political career

Quinn was a member of 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 ...

from 1957 to 1969 and the speaker of that body from 1967 to 1969. During his tenure in the house, he played a role in the founding of the

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus Un ...

by co-sponsoring the legislation that established the university in conjunction with

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the ...

Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

Maurice A. Donahue. Quinn was elected

Massachusetts Attorney General The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected Constitution of Massachusetts, constitutionally defined executive officer of the Government of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement offic ...

by the Massachusetts Legislature sitting in Joint Convention following

Elliot Richardson Elliot Lee Richardson (July 20, 1920December 31, 1999) was an American lawyer and public servant who was a member of the cabinet of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. As U.S. Attorney General, he was a prominent figure in the Watergate ...

's selection as

Under Secretary of State Under Secretary of State (U/S) is a title used by senior officials of the United States Department of State who rank above the Assistant Secretaries and below the Deputy Secretary. From 1919 to 1972, the Under Secretary was the second-ranking of ...

. He won a full four-year term in 1970. In 1970, Quinn championed legislation that offered financial incentives to law enforcement officers who pursued higher education, which became known as the "Quinn Bill". Quinn sought the Democratic nomination for governor in 1974, but was defeated by

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...

Later life and death

Following his defeat, co-founded the Quinn and Morris law firm and was a prominent lobbyist. He also served as chairman of the board of trustees of University of Massachusetts (1981-1986) and the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. Quinn died in Falmouth,

, on January 12, 2014, at the age of 85.

References

1928 births 2014 deaths Boston College alumni Boston College Eagles football players Boston College High School alumni Harvard Law School alumni Massachusetts Attorneys General Politicians from Boston Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Lawyers from Boston 20th-century American lawyers {{Massachusetts-MARepresentative-stub

Early life

Political career

Later life and death

See also

References