Courtenay Crocker (February 4, 1881 – December 16, 1944) was an American attorney and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

from 1910 to 1914. He served as an advisor to

King of Siam The monarchy of Thailand is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government of Thailand (formerly ''Siam''). The king of Thailand (, historically, ''king of Siam''; ) is the head of state and head of the ruling Chakri dynasty. ...

Rama VII Prajadhipok (8 November 1893 – 30 May 1941) was the seventh king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VII. His reign was a turbulent time for Siam due to political and social changes during the Siamese revolution of 1932, 19 ...

on foreign affairs from 1924 to 1926.

Early life

Crocker was born on February 4, 1881, to George G. Crocker and Annie Bliss (Keep) Crocker. His father was an attorney and politician who served in the

Massachusetts legislature The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. The name "General Court" is a holdover from the earliest days o ...

. He graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1901 and

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 ...

in 1905.

Political career

In 1908, Crocker was elected to the Boston Common Council. He was reelected in 1909. From 1910 to 1914, Crocker was a member of the

. He served as chairman of the House Ways and Means committee. In 1917 he was appointed to the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission by Governor Samuel McCall. From 1910 to 1912, Crocker was the secretary of the Republican Club of Massachusetts. From 1914 to 1917 he served as the club's president. He later served as its vice president. He resigned from the club in 1920 due to the party's stance against the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. He supported Democrat Channing H. Cox in that year's gubernatorial election. In 1924 Cox appointed Crocker to the Public Safety Committee.

Advisor to foreign governments

From 1924 to 1926, Crocker was an advisor to the

. He advised

on foreign affairs in cooperation with foreign minister Prince Traidos Prabandh. Crocker succeeded Francis Bowes Sayre Sr. in this position. Upon his return to Boston he served as president of the Japan Society of Boston. In 1929 he succeeded Cox as Honorary Consul of Japan in Boston.

U.S. Senate campaign

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

, Crocker returned to the Republican Party and announced his candidacy for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. Massachusetts Secretary of State Frederic W. Cook ruled that Crocker was ineligible to run in the Republican primary because he was not a registered Republican for at least 30 days before filing his nomination papers, however Suffolk Superior Court Judge John V. Spalding ordered Cook to place Crocker on the ballot. Crocker lost the primary to the incumbent

Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (July 5, 1902 – February 27, 1985) was an American diplomat and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate and served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations in the administration of Pre ...

and supported the Democratic nominee, Joseph E. Casey in the general election.

Death

Crocker died on December 16, 1944, at his home in Boston.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crocker, Courtenay 1881 births 1944 deaths Massachusetts Democrats Massachusetts Republicans Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Boston Harvard Law School alumni 20th-century American lawyers Lawyers from Boston Boston Common Council members 20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court