John Anthony Notte Jr. (May 3, 1909 – March 7, 1983) was an American politician, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, best known for serving as the 65th

Governor of Rhode Island The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and serves as commander-in-chief of the state's Army National Guard and Air National Guard. The current governor is Dan McKee, a member of the Democrati ...

Biography

A son of John Anthony Notte and Eva Theresa (Rondina) Notte, he was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. He was married to Marie J. Huerth in 1934. The couple had two children together. Notte graduated from the

Boston University Law School The Boston University School of Law (BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a Private university, private research university in Boston. Established in 1872, it is the third-oldest law school in New England, after Harvard Law School and ...

in 1935. He went on to practice law and served as town solicitor in North Providence in 1937. During his undergraduate years, Notte joined

Alpha Phi Delta Alpha Phi Delta (), commonly referred to as APD, is an American collegiate fraternity. Alpha Phi Delta was established at Syracuse University in 1914 as an Italian-heritage fraternity. History In 1913, Syracuse University student Nicholas Frunzi ...

. During World War II he served in the

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and rose to the rank of lieutenant. Just after return to home he was elected Chairman of the Rhode Island Veterans' Bonus Board. From 1949 to 1950 he served as State Commander of the Rhode Island Department of the

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States Armed Forces, United States war veterans who fought in wars, Military campaign, campaig ...

. He later served as a member of staff of

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Theodore F. Green from 1948 to 1956, and as Chairman of the North Providence Democratic town committee. Notte resigned from Green's staff after he was elected Secretary of State, a post he held from 1957 to 1958. He was a delegate to the

1960 Democratic National Convention The 1960 Democratic National Convention was held in Los Angeles, California, on July 11–15, 1960. It nominated Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts for president and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas for vice president. In ...

and became the 57th

Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island The current lieutenant governor of Rhode Island is Sabina Matos, who was sworn in on April 14, 2021, after Daniel McKee succeeded to the office of governor. The first lieutenant governor was George Brown. In Rhode Island, the lieutenant gov ...

in 1959 and served until 1961 under Republican Christopher Del Sesto (Rhode Island Governor and his deputy are elected at the separate ballots).

Governorship

Notte was elected Governor in 1960, defeating Del Sesto, and held this post from January 3, 1961 to January 1, 1963 – one single two-year term. Under his administration, a family court was established and Rhode Island held its first one-day, one-place Democratic and Republican primaries. He appointed Leonard Holland as state Adjutant General early in his term. Holland would lead the

Rhode Island National Guard The Rhode Island National Guard consists of the: * Rhode Island Army National Guardbr>* Rhode Island Air National Guardbr>** 102nd Information Warfare Squadron ** 143d Airlift Wing ** 281st Combat Communications Group ** 282nd Combat Communicat ...

for the next 22 years. He was defeated for re-election by Republican

John Chafee John Lester Hubbard Chafee ( ; October 22, 1922 – October 24, 1999) was an American politician and officer in the United States Marine Corps. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 66th Governor o ...

in the state's tightest gubernatorial race ever – a margin of 398 votes. His defeat coincided with a lack of support from labor unions (he was the first Democratic Governor running without labor support), because of a withdrawal of support for a state income tax.

Later life

After he left office, he returned to his law practice and sought the Democratic nomination in the special election to the

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

in 1967 but lost the primary. Notte died on March 7, 1983, at the age of 73 and was buried in St. Francis Cemetery in

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket ( ) is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence, Rhode Island, Prov ...

Legacy

Governor Notte Park in North Providence is named after him.

External links

Biography from National Governors Association Site

BreezeObserver: Gov. Notte brought dignity, honor to his home townGuide to the John A. Notte Jr. records
from the Rhode Island State Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Notte, John A. Jr. 1909 births 1983 deaths Democratic Party governors of Rhode Island Lieutenant governors of Rhode Island Secretaries of state of Rhode Island Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island United States Navy officers Military personnel from Rhode Island Catholics from Rhode Island 20th-century Rhode Island politicians