Francis Xavier Ahearn (February 26, 1917 – December 12, 2006) was an American politician who served on the

Boston City Council The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year ...

from 1952 to 1958. He was the council president in 1953.

Early life

Ahearn was born on February 26, 1917, in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. He graduated from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

in 1940 with a degree in economics and went on to attend

Boston College Law School Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College, a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. It is situated on a campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about from the university's main campus in Chestn ...

. In 1940 he married Doris E. Johnson, whom he first met when they attended junior high school. The couple had two sons, one of whom,

Rick Ahearn Frederick Leonard Ahearn (November 6, 1949 – November 14, 2023) was an American political and corporate consultant who served as executive vice president of Potomac Communications Strategies in Alexandria, Virginia. He is best known for his lo ...

, also became involved in politics. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Ahearn served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as a legal officer at the Naval Air Station at Pearl Harbor. After the war, Ahearn worked as an adjunct professor at Boston College Law School and Calvin Coolidge Law School/New England School of Law.

Political career

During the late 1940s, Ahearn served as the chairman of the Plan E for Boston Committee, a group that wanted the city to adopt a council/manager form of government. In 1951, Ahearn was elected to the Boston City Council. The following year he was elected council president. As council president, Ahearn served as acting mayor on several occasions when Mayor John Hynes was unavailable, including when President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

visited Boston. On March 8, 1957, Ahearn was appointed First Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth. He completed his term as councilor, but did not run for reelection. In 1960, Ahearn was a candidate for Secretary of the Commonwealth. He lost in the Democratic primary to attorney Kevin White. He received 37% of the vote compared to White's 39%, with

Margaret McGovern Margaret F. McGovern (1924-2009) was an American attorney and political candidate who was one of the first female candidates to seek statewide office in Massachusetts. Early life McGovern was born in Boston in 1924. Her parents, Joseph and Adele ...

, Boston's assistant corporation counsel, receiving the remaining 24%. In 1962, Ahearn unsuccessfully ran for a seat 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 ...

Later life and death

After leaving the Secretary's office, Ahearn served as chief legal counsel to the State Appellate Tax Board. He resided and practiced law in both Brighton and

Cotuit, Massachusetts Cotuit ( ) is one of the villages of the Town of Barnstable on Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on a peninsula on the south side of Barnstable about midway between Falmouth and Hyannis, Cotuit is bounded by ...

. He died on December 12, 2006, at a rehabilitation facility in

Bourne, Massachusetts Bourne ( ) is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,452 at the 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information on specific parts of the town of Bourne, please see the articles ...

. He was survived by his wife Doris and their two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahearn, Francis X. 1917 births 2006 deaths Presidents of the Boston City Council Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences alumni Boston College faculty Boston College Law School alumni Lawyers from Boston Massachusetts Democrats People from Cotuit, Massachusetts 20th-century American lawyers United States Navy officers 21st-century American lawyers United States Navy personnel of World War II Military personnel from Massachusetts 20th-century Massachusetts politicians