Sanford Bates (July 17, 1884 in Boston, Massachusetts – September 8, 1972) was an American politician and public administrator who served as the first Director of the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

(1930–1937), a subdivision of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

."Sanford Bates Collection, 1906-1972"
SHSU Special Collections & University Archives. Retrieved 2015-2-22.

Education

Bates attended Boston public schools graduating from English High School, and from the Y.M.C.A. Evening Law School, now

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

Early career

Before he became an attorney, Bates worked as a clerk in the Boston Street Department.

Political career

Early in his career Bates was active in the local Republican party, he was a member of the Lincoln club, the Republican club of Boston's Ward 24, serving as a member of the Ward 24 Republican Committee in 1910-1911.

Legislative career

Bates served in both houses of the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

(1912-1917). From 1912 to 1914 Bates represented the 24th Suffolk District in 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

1917 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention

In 1916, the Massachusetts legislature and electorate approved a calling of a Constitutional Convention. In May 1917, Bates was elected to serve as a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1917, representing the 19th Suffolk District. Bates was a member of the Convention's Committee on Liquor Traffic.

Corrections career

On November 1, 1918 Bates was appointed as the Commissioner of Penal Institutions in Boston (1917-1919), then appointed as Commissioner of the

Massachusetts Department of Corrections The Massachusetts Department of Correction is responsible for operating the prison system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The Massachusetts Department of Correction is responsible for the custody of about 8,292 prisone ...

in 1919 by then-Governor

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

. Bates served there until 1929 when he became the first Superintendent of Prisons for the newly created

, U.S. Department of Justice, through January 31, 1937. From 1945 until his semi-retirement in 1954 he headed yet another prison system, the New Jersey Department of Corrections. Among many other titles, positions and honors, Bates was the president of the

American Prison Association The American Correctional Association (ACA; called the National Prison Association before 1954) is a private, non-profit, non-governmental trade association and accrediting body for the corrections industry, the oldest and largest such associati ...

in 1926.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Sanford Federal Bureau of Prisons officials Members of the 1917 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Republican Party Massachusetts state senators 1884 births 1982 deaths Politicians from Boston American prison officials 20th-century American politicians