# 1955–1956 Massachusetts legislature

The 159th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1955 and 1956 during the governorship of Christian Herter. Richard I. Furbush served as president of the Senate and Michael F. Skerry served as speaker of the House.
The Massachusetts Legislative Research Bureau began operating in 1955.

## Senators

| name | date of birth | district |
| John Adams | May 30, 1915 | 4th Essex |
| John Joseph Beades | June 8, 1916 | |
| Paul H. Benoit | January 5, 1916 | |
| Philip Griggs Bowker | April 17, 1899 | |
| Ralph Vester Clampit | March 28, 1896 | |
| Silvio O. Conte | November 9, 1921 | |
| James J. Corbett | November 27, 1896 | |
| Leslie Bradley Cutler | March 24, 1890 | |
| Edmund Dinis | October 4, 1924 | |
| Maurice A. Donahue | September 12, 1918 | |
| George Jelly Evans | February 4, 1909 | |
| William Daniel Fleming | April 14, 1907 | |
| Mary L. Fonseca | March 30, 1915 | |
| Richard I. Furbush | January 4, 1904 | |
| Joseph Francis Gibney | January 9, 1911 | |
| C. Henry Glovsky | March 26, 1918 | |
| Philip A. Graham | May 21, 1910 | |
| Charles W. Hedges | March 27, 1901 | |
| James W. Hennigan Jr. | March 27, 1927 | |
| Charles V. Hogan | April 12, 1897 | |
| Newland H. Holmes | August 30, 1891 | |
| Charles John Innes | June 1, 1901 | |
| Hastings Keith | November 22, 1915 | |
| Fred I. Lamson | December 11, 1910 | |
| Richard Henry Lee | December 20, 1901 | |
| Ralph Lerche | August 19, 1899 | |
| Harold R. Lundgren | May 22, 1894 | |
| Ralph Collins Mahar | January 4, 1912 | |
| Francis X. McCann | September 2, 1912 | |
| Frederick T. McDermott | November 20, 1906 | |
| Charles William Olson | August 24, 1889 | |
| John Francis Parker | May 29, 1907 | |
| John E. Powers | November 10, 1910 | |
| Albert S. Previte Jr. | September 26, 1928 | |
| Andrew P. Quigley | January 13, 1926 | |
| Daniel Rudsten | | |
| Elizabeth Stanton | May 27, 1909 | |
| Edward C. Stone | June 29, 1878 | |
| Mario Umana | May 5, 1914 | |
| Patrick John F. Walsh Jr. | July 2, 1915 | |

## Representatives

| name | date of birth | district |
| Frank Haskell Allen | October 12, 1877 | 7th Worcester |
| Leonard H. Amoroso | February 14, 1897 | |
| Charles H. Anthony | July 6, 1893 | |
| Ernest W. April | January 15, 1915 | |
| John A. Armstrong | June 12, 1901 | |
| Charles J. Artesani | | |
| John George Asiaf | June 30, 1900 | |
| John Robert Ayers | February 18, 1911 | |
| Clifton H. Baker | November 28, 1878 | |
| Cyrus Barnes | August 23, 1889 | |
| Fred A. Baumeister | September 24, 1892 | |
| James C. Bayley | October 28, 1908 | |
| Raymond H. Beach | August 11, 1888 | |
| Rene R. Bernardin | July 24, 1910 | |
| Charles A. Bisbee Jr. | June 8, 1918 | |
| Fred Arthur Blake | January 13, 1895 | |
| Carlton H. Bliss | August 7, 1900 | |
| Belden Bly | September 29, 1914 | |
| Frank Edwin Boot | November 8, 1905 | |
| Samuel Joseph Boudreau | | |
| Gordon Dickson Boynton | August 9, 1901 | |
| Malcolm Blanchard Boynton | November 13, 1894 | |
| G. Edward Bradley | October 21, 1906 | |
| Rene A. Brassard | August 5, 1917 | |
| John Cornelius Bresnahan | November 14, 1919 | |
| Frank Eben Brown | January 14, 1890 | |
| John D. Brown | January 30, 1900 | |
| John Brox | November 16, 1910 | |
| John Patrick Buckley | 1906 | |
| William Francis Burke | February 12, 1925 | |
| Pasquale Caggiano | August 31, 1909 | |
| Oscar Josiah Cahoon | April 29, 1912 | |
| Gardner E. Campbell | November 22, 1886 | |
| John J. Campbell | August 26, 1922 | |
| Harold Wilson Canavan | May 13, 1915 | |
| Michael Herbert Cantwell | May 2, 1905 | |
| Richard Caples | December 23, 1921 | |
| Charles W. Capraro | November 2, 1920 | |
| Michael Joseph Carroll | June 21, 1891 | |
| Ralph W. Cartwright Jr. | October 5, 1920 | |
| John Joseph Cavanaugh | December 16, 1921 | |
| Harrison Chadwick | February 25, 1903 | |
| Wendell Phillips Chamberlain | October 28, 1911 | |
| Amelio Della Chiesa | July 31, 1901 | |
| Stephen T. Chmura | August 25, 1916 | |
| Thomas Francis Coady Jr. | May 8, 1905 | |
| Anthony M. Colonna | May 2, 1916 | |
| Harry Coltun | | |
| George Raymand Como | July 3, 1912 | |
| James Francis Condon | February 4, 1899 | |
| Joseph T. Conley | | |
| William Augustine Connell, Jr | November 17, 1922 | |
| John W. Costello | April 20, 1927 | |
| Leo Joseph Cournoyer | December 11, 1905 | |
| William A. Cowing | January 6, 1878 | |
| Wallace Boyd Crawford | November 19, 1908 | |
| John Francis Cremens | | |
| Sidney Curtiss | September 4, 1917 | |
| John A. Davis | May 9, 1912 | |
| John Davoren | July 27, 1915 | |
| James DeNormandie | November 10, 1907 | |
| Domenic Victor DePari | October 27, 1910 | |
| Wilfred Adolphus Derosier | March 2, 1908 | |
| Edward DeSaulnier | January 8, 1921 | |
| Cornelius Desmond | October 4, 1893 | |
| Theophile Jean DesRoches | June 27, 1902 | |
| William P. Di Vitto | | |
| Thomas J. Doherty | August 25, 1919 | |
| John F. Dolan | September 7, 1922 | |
| James R. Doncaster | January 28, 1919 | |
| Edmond J. Donlan | December 19, 1899 | |
| Allison Rice Dorman | December 1, 1879 | |
| Charles Robert Doyle | September 24, 1925 | |
| John T. Driscoll | October 26, 1925 | |
| Charles E. Luke Driscoll | October 1, 1909 | |
| Philip J. Durkin | October 21, 1903 | |
| John Marshall Eaton Jr. | March 26, 1918 | |
| Thomas Edward Enright | August 1, 1881 | |
| Manuel Faria | March 7, 1906 | |
| C. Eugene Farnam | December 31, 1916 | |
| Thomas F. Farrell | October 10, 1897 | |
| Michael Paul Feeney | March 26, 1907 | |
| Lawrence F. Feloney | September 11, 1921 | |
| Charles E. Ferguson | January 30, 1894 | |
| William H. Finnegan | March 29, 1926 | |
| Thomas M. Flaherty | September 6, 1903 | |
| Stephen L. French | March 9, 1892 | |
| Peter B. Gay | July 13, 1915 | |
| Charles Gibbons | July 21, 1901 | |
| Donald Linwood Gibbs | August 7, 1904 | |
| Frank S. Giles | June 15, 1915 | |
| Louis Harry Glaser | June 15, 1910 | |
| Edwin Daniel Gorman | November 19, 1912 | |
| Hollis M. Gott | May 25, 1885 | |
| Joseph Patrick Graham | August 22, 1902 | |
| Thomas T. Gray | July 22, 1892 | |
| George Greene | March 7, 1897 | |
| Thomas J. Hannon | December 9, 1900 | |
| Francis Appleton Harding | 1908 | |
| Fred C. Harrington | April 21, 1902 | |
| William E. Hays | November 28, 1903 | |
| Arthur Graham Heaney | July 7, 1908 | |
| Francis J. Hickey, Jr. | March 7, 1928 | |
| George W. Hill | September 15, 1888 | |
| Paul L. Hinckley | August 16, 1910 | |
| Isaac Alexander Hodgen | March 28, 1907 | |
| Olaf Hoff Jr. | January 11, 1892 | |
| Herbert B. Hollis | September 10, 1899 | |
| Charles F. Holman | June 21, 1892 | |
| J. Philip Howard | February 16, 1907 | |
| Richard Lester Hull | November 30, 1917 | |
| Walter Forbes Hurlburt | February 18, 1917 | |
| Nathaniel M. Hurwitz | March 24, 1893 | |
| Fred A. Hutchinson | April 5, 1881 | |
| Christopher A. Iannella | May 29, 1913 | |
| Charles Iannello | April 25, 1906 | |
| John Peter Ivascyn | October 19, 1909 | |
| William Whittem Jenness | April 3, 1904 | |
| Adolph Johnson | July 20, 1885 | |
| Ernest A. Johnson | March 13, 1897 | |
| Stanley Everett Johnson | October 4, 1911 | |
| Allan Francis Jones | June 29, 1921 | |
| Abraham Herbert Kahalas | | |
| Sumner Z. Kaplan | February 3, 1920 | |
| William Francis Keenan | January 8, 1921 | |
| Charles T. Kelleher | July 26, 1912 | |
| James H. Kelly | October 15, 1919 | |
| Archibald E. Kenefick | November 4, 1896 | |
| Edward L. Kerr | March 6, 1909 | |
| Cornelius F. Kiernan | August 15, 1917 | |
| Philip Kimball | June 6, 1918 | |
| William James Kingston | October 17, 1909 | |
| William Walter Kirlin | May 13, 1897 | |
| Thomas Edward Kitchen | December 16, 1924 | |
| Freyda Koplow | October 26, 1907 | |
| Edmund Vincent Lane | August 31, 1893 | |
| John Joseph Lawless | July 15, 1912 | |
| James R. Lawton | October 20, 1925 | |
| Carter Lee | July 3, 1907 | |
| Francis W. Lindstrom | December 18, 1898 | |
| Thomas Francis Linehan | November 23, 1905 | |
| Gerald P. Lombard | January 4, 1916 | |
| William Longworth | August 17, 1914 | |
| Arthur Ulton Mahan | June 18, 1900 | |
| Francis Joseph Marr | October 10, 1927 | |
| Charles Sumner Marston 3d | June 16, 1921 | |
| Rico Matera | June 21, 1917 | |
| Joseph F. McEvoy Jr. | April 27, 1918 | |
| Hugh J. McLaughlin | September 27, 1915 | |
| John P. McMorrow | September 19, 1926 | |
| Wilfred S. Mirsky | September 14, 1906 | |
| Joe Moakley | April 27, 1927 | |
| William Dix Morton Jr. | November 5, 1904 | |
| Charles A. Mullaly Jr. | September 28, 1910 | |
| John E. Murphy | February 13, 1900 | |
| Cornelius Joseph Murray | August 19, 1890 | |
| Harold Clinton Nagle | July 27, 1917 | |
| Thomas M. Newth | March 15, 1911 | |
| Leo James Normandin | December 14, 1922 | |
| William F. Nourse | September 12, 1922 | |
| James Anthony O'Brien | October 27, 1886 | |
| Walter Wilson O'Brien | October 14, 1910 | |
| David J. O'Connor | November 9, 1924 | |
| Thomas J. O'Connor | July 27, 1925 | |
| John Henry O'Connor Jr. | December 9, 1917 | |
| James O'Dea Jr. | August 25, 1922 | |
| George Henry O'Farrell | November 15, 1910 | |
| Joseph Michael O'Loughlin | November 26, 1914 | |
| John J. O'Rourke | June 26, 1916 | |
| Daniel Matthew O'Sullivan | August 17, 1921 | |
| Frank B. Oliveira | | |
| Harold A. Palmer | October 15, 1906 | |
| Charles Louis Patrone | March 17, 1914 | |
| Charles W. Patterson | January 30, 1917 | |
| Patrick Francis Plunkett | March 21, 1917 | |
| Michael A. Porrazzo | June 2, 1913 | |
| George William Porter | November 6, 1885 | |
| Harvey Armand Pothier | September 6, 1901 | |
| Harold Putnam (Massachusetts politician) | February 15, 1916 | |
| Philip Andrew Quinn | February 21, 1910 | |
| William I. Randall | September 13, 1915 | |
| George E. Rawson | December 6, 1886 | |
| Frank G. Rico | June 2, 1912 | |
| William H. J. Rowan | June 21, 1879 | |
| Richard August Ruether | August 28, 1896 | |
| Roger A. Sala | August 8, 1893 | |
| Joseph Douglas Saulnier | April 14, 1906 | |
| Anthony James Scalli | November 11, 1914 | |
| Anthony M. Scibelli | October 16, 1911 | |
| John Ralph Sennott Jr. | April 22, 1910 | |
| John Ellsworth Sheldon | August 17, 1909 | |
| Joseph Silvano | March 1, 1909 | |
| Michael John Simonelli | May 9, 1913 | |
| J. Roger Sisson | August 14, 1921 | |
| Michael F. Skerry | January 3, 1909 | |
| Thomas J. Slack | February 10, 1914 | |
| Fletcher Smith Jr. | May 20, 1918 | |
| George T. Smith | March 18, 1888 | |
| Leo Sontag | August 16, 1922 | |
| Anthony William Spadafora | October 20, 1924 | |
| George I. Spatcher | February 2, 1902 | |
| C. Clifford Stone | August 20, 1897 | |
| Franklin Sturgis Jr. | October 18, 1883 | |
| William Christopher Sullivan | October 13, 1924 | |
| Joseph A. Sylvia | August 19, 1892 | |
| Joseph A. Sylvia Jr. | September 16, 1903 | |
| Alvin C. Tamkin | June 19, 1924 | |
| Armand N. Tancrati | May 3, 1914 | |
| Frank Daniel Tanner | February 3, 1888 | |
| Duncan Forbes Thayer | February 14, 1900 | |
| John F. Thompson (politician) | May 20, 1920 | |
| George Hawley Thompson | June 8, 1917 | |
| Irene Thresher | July 6, 1900 | |
| Nathaniel Tilden | November 3, 1903 | |
| Robert Xavier Tivnan | June 9, 1924 | |
| John Joseph Toomey | March 25, 1909 | |
| Herbert Tuckerman | May 2, 1921 | |
| Earle Stanley Tyler | December 18, 1896 | |
| John Taylor Tynan | June 7, 1920 | |
| Theodore Jack Vaitses | May 8, 1901 | |
| William X. Wall | July 1, 1904 | |
| Joseph Francis Walsh | February 9, 1907 | |
| Barclay H. Warburton III | February 5, 1922 | |
| Joseph D. Ward | March 26, 1914 | |
| Martha Ware | October 6, 1917 | |
| Chester H. Waterous | November 18, 1905 | |
| Norman S. Weinberg | 1919 | |
| Philip F. Whitmore | September 10, 1892 | |
| Charles E. Wilkinson | December 26, 1883 | |
| Joseph Wisniowski | March 1, 1918 | |
| Thomas Casmere Wojtkowski | September 18, 1926 | |
| Stanislaus George Wondolowski | August 20, 1909 | |
| Alton Hamilton Worrall | April 20, 1893 | |
| John Yerxa | April 23, 1904 | |
| Albert H. Zabriskie | December 7, 1917 | |
| John F. Zamparelli | December 13, 1922 | |
| Paul G. Zollo | August 26, 1904 | |