Marcus Allen Coolidge (October 6, 1865January 23, 1947) was a Democratic

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

representing

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 ...

from March 4, 1931, to January 3, 1937.

Biography

Coolidge was born in

Westminster, Massachusetts Westminster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 8,213. History Westminster was first settled by Europeans in 1737, and was officially incorporat ...

, son of

Frederick Spaulding Coolidge Frederick Spaulding Coolidge (December 7, 1841 – June 8, 1906) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and the father of United States Senator Marcus Allen Coolidge. Biography Born to Charles and Nancy (Spaulding) Coolidge in Westminste ...

. Through his father, he was descended from both John Coolidge (1604–1691) and Thomas Hastings who came from the

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

region of England to the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

, in 1630 and 1634 respectively. After attending public schools and Bryant & Stratton Commercial College at its former

Boston, Massachusetts 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 ...

, campus, Coolidge worked with his father's company in manufacturing chairs and

rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the clos ...

. He later worked in the contracting business, building street railways, water works, and bridges. In 1916, Coolidge was elected mayor of

Fitchburg, Massachusetts Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Fitchburg State University is located here. History ...

. In 1919, President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

appointed Coolidge as

special envoy Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

to represent the Peace Commission. He became chairman of the Democratic state convention in 1920. That year he was defeated for lieutenant governor by Republican Congressman Alvan T. Fuller. Coolidge also served as trustee and president of the

Cushing Academy Cushing Academy is a private, coeducational college-preparatory school for boarding and day students in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, United States. It serves approximately 400 students in grades 9–12 and a postgraduate year. History Cushing ...

Ashburnham, Massachusetts Ashburnham () is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 6,315. It is home to Cushing Academy, a private preparatory boarding school. Ashburnham contains the census-designated place ...

. After being elected to 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 ...

in 1930, Coolidge served as chairman of the Committee on Immigration for the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Congresses, but was not a candidate for renomination in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

. After leaving the Senate, Coolidge returned to Fitchburg and his former business pursuits. He died at St. Francis Hospital in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, in 1947, aged 81, and is interred at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in

. He donated substantial land to the city of Fitchburg for a recreational park located in the north section. The park bearing his last name is the largest in the city and bears an engraved stone memorializing his notable activities and public contributions. He was a "distant relative" of

Massachusetts Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The governor is the chief executive, head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonw ...

and

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

. Coolidge was the father-in-law of Secretary of War Harry Hines Woodring and Mayor Robert E. Greenwood of Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

References

Sources

External links

Descendants of Thomas Hastings website

Descendants of Thomas Hastings on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coolidge, Marcus A. 1865 births 1947 deaths People from Westminster, Massachusetts Marcus A. American people of English descent American Universalists Democratic Party United States senators from Massachusetts Massachusetts Democrats Mayors of Fitchburg, Massachusetts Politicians from Miami Bryant and Stratton College alumni 20th-century United States senators