Alpheus Brown Alger (October 8, 1854 – May 4, 1895) was a

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

politician who served in the

Massachusetts State 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 s ...

, as a member of the Board of Aldermen and as the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

Biography

Alger was born to Edwin Alden and Amanda Malvina Alger, née Buswell, in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, it is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in ...

. From October 1875 to January 1877 Alger studied law at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

and he was admitted to the bar for the County of Middlesex on June 4, 1877. After being admitted to the bar, he began practicing law with his father's firm, Brown & Alger in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

while living in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. Alger was active in the Democratic party. From 1878 to 1891 Alger was a member of the Cambridge Democratic Committee, from 1884 to 1891 he was a member of Massachusetts' Democratic party state committee, and he represented Massachusetts' eight Congressional District at the

1888 Democratic National Convention The 1888 Democratic National Convention was a nominating convention held June 5 to 7, 1888, in the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall in St. Louis, Missouri. It nominated President Grover Cleveland for reelection and former Senator Allen G. ...

. He died on May 4, 1895, in

North Cambridge, Massachusetts North Cambridge, also known as "Area 11", is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts bounded by Porter Square and the Fitchburg Line railroad tracks on the south, the city of Somerville on the northeast, Alewife Brook and the town of Arl ...

References

1854 births 1895 deaths Mayors of Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge, Massachusetts City Council members Democratic Party Massachusetts state senators Harvard Law School alumni 1888 United States presidential election Harvard College alumni 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court {{Massachusetts-MASenate-stub