Edward Lawrence Logan (January 20, 1875 – July 6, 1939) was an American lawyer, judge, military officer, and politician. While still a student, Logan enlisted in the Massachusetts 9th infantry during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. Upon returning to Boston, he ran successfully for a seat on the

Boston Common Council Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

in 1899, and subsequently won election to the

Massachusetts state 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 of ...

as both a representative, and later as a state senator. Rising to the rank of major general following

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was given command of the 26th Infantry Division of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. Logan was instrumental in the post–World War I reorganization of that unit, as well as the

Massachusetts National Guard The Massachusetts National Guard is the United States National Guard, National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded as the Massachusetts militia, Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, it contains the ...

. He went on to serve as head of

the American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an organization of U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, in turn made up of local posts. It was established ...

's Department of Massachusetts.

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...

, an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

located in the

East Boston East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, which was annexed by the city of Boston in 1836. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Massachusetts, Winthrop, Revere, Mas ...

neighborhood of

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 ...

, is named after him.

Biography

Early years

Logan was born in

South Boston South Boston (colloquially known as Southie) is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay (Boston Harbor), Dorchester Bay. It has under ...

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 ...

, a son of Lawrence J. Logan and Catherine M. O'Connor.Edward Lawrence Logan, "Edward Lawrence Logan", i
''Harvard College Class of 1898 Quindecennial Report''
n.c.: n.p., June 1913; pp. 200–201. He graduated from

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a Magnet school, magnet Latin schools, Latin Grammar schools, grammar State school, state school in Boston, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous operation since it was established on April 23, 1635. It is the old ...

and enrolled at

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 ...

, from which he graduated in 1898. During his freshman year, he lived in

Holworthy Hall Holworthy Hall, in Harvard Yard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a historic dormitory for first-year students at Harvard College. History Holworthy was named in 1812 in honor of a wealthy English merchant, Sir Matthew Holworthy, who died in 167 ...

, where his roommate was John Rankin McVey, an attorney and banker who became a powerful figure in the Massachusetts Democratic Party.

Political career

In 1897, Logan enlisted in the 9th Infantry Regiment of the Massachusetts National Guard. He was quickly promoted through the ranks to sergeant major, and took part in combat in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

during the

. He returned to Boston in the fall of 1898 and enrolled 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 ...

. While still a law student, Logan won election to the

, on which he served from 1899 to 1900. In 1900, Logan ran successfully for election to 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 ...

, where he served from 1901 to 1902. He graduated from law school in 1901 and was admitted to the bar, after which he began to practice in Boston. Logan won election to 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 ...

in from a South Boston district November 1905. He served from 1906 to 1907, and was an unsuccessful 1906 candidate for the Democratic nomination for Congress in Massachusetts' 10th Congressional district. In 1907, Logan was nominated to serve as associate justice of the Municipal Court for the South Boston District by Republican governor Curtis Guild Jr. He remained on the bench for the next 25 years, excepting his military service.

Military career

Although Logan had resigned from the state militia in 1899, he rejoined in 1901, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 9th Infantry Regiment. He served in the 9th Regiment for the next 10 years and was promoted to first lieutenant and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. In February 1911 he was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and in May 1912 to commander of the regiment with the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. In March 1917, Logan's regiment was

mobilized Mobilization (alternatively spelled as mobilisation) is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the ...

to guard installations in anticipation of the US declaration of war on

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. After several months of guard duty, the 9th was federalized and re-designated as the

101st Infantry Regiment 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, part of the 26th Infantry Division, a

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

organization created from the units of the

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

states. Logan accompanied his troops to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in command of the 101st, and the regiment saw combat throughout the war. In April 1919, the 101st Infantry was relieved of active duty, and Logan oversaw its reorganization into the

. In January 1921 Logan was promoted to brigadier general and took command of the Massachusetts national Guard's 1st Brigade. In March 1923 he was promoted to major general as commander of the 26th Division. As its first post-war commander, General Logan was responsible for reorganizing and training the division as a completely Massachusetts unit.

Post-war life

Throughout the remainder of his life, Logan achieved prominence as an advocate for

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

s as the state commander of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

and president of the

National Guard Association of the United States The National Guard Association of the United States was founded in 1878 as a congressional lobbying organization for National Guard issues. A member of the Military Coalition, NGAUS lobbies on behalf of over 400,000 officers and enlisted members ...

. He retired from the Guard in 1938. At his retirement, Logan received a state promotion to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

in recognition of his decades of military service.

Death and legacy

Logan died in

on July 6, 1939. He was 64 years old at the time of his death. In 1943, Boston Airport/Jeffrey Field was renamed General Edward Lawrence Logan Airport in Logan's honor. Although Logan was not an aviator, he did lobby intensely for veteran benefits to include the high-risk group of pilots. A statue of Logan by

Joseph Coletti Joseph Arthur Coletti (November 5, 1898 – May 5, 1973) was an Italian-born American sculptor. Life Coletti was born in San Donato, Italy, on November 5, 1898. He was brought to the United States by his parents when he was two years old, and he ...

was unveiled at the airport entrance in a public ceremony on May 20, 1956. It has been moved several times to accommodate the airport's growth.

Footnotes

External links

* Leonid Kondratiuk
"About Logan: Major General Edward L. Logan"
at www.massport.com via

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

Historic Shorts , Lt. General Edward Logan Statue Dedication at Logan Airport on May 20, 1956
via

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

* coordinates of Logan statue {{DEFAULTSORT:Logan, Edward Lawrence 1875 births 1939 deaths Military personnel from Massachusetts Boston Latin School alumni Harvard College alumni American military personnel of the Spanish–American War United States Army personnel of World War I Boston Common Council members Harvard Law School alumni Massachusetts National Guard personnel National Guard (United States) generals Judges of the Boston Municipal Court Massachusetts state senators Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives People from South Boston Politicians from Boston United States Army generals 19th-century United States Army personnel 20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court