Maurice James "Moe" Murphy Jr. (October 3, 1927 – October 27, 2002) was an American politician and lawyer from

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

. He was (for one month) the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and (for eleven months) an appointed

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and p ...

Early life, education & military service

He was born in

Dover, New Hampshire Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,741 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in the New Hampshire Seacoast region and the fifth largest municipality in the state. It is the county s ...

and graduated from Dover High School and St. Mary's Academy. He graduated from the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the olde ...

in 1950 and from

Boston College Law School Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College. It is situated on a wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about 1.5 miles from the university's main campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. With approximately 800 studen ...

in 1953. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

and commenced the

practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the profess ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

in 1955. He served as an enlisted man in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in 1946 and 1947 and again in 1953 and 1954.

Legal & political career

He was legal counsel to the

New Hampshire Senate The New Hampshire Senate has been meeting since 1784. It is the upper house of the New Hampshire General Court, alongside the lower New Hampshire House of Representatives. It consists of 24 members representing Senate districts based on population ...

in 1957–1958, and administrative assistant to Governor

Wesley Powell Wesley Powell (October 13, 1915January 6, 1981) was an American lawyer and Republican politician from Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. Powell was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He attended schools in Portsmouth before graduating from the ...

from 1959 to 1961. After serving as deputy attorney general for several months, Murphy was appointed by Governor Powell as New Hampshire Attorney General, and took office on November 4, 1961. Three weeks later, the longest-serving U.S. Senator, conservative Republican H. Styles Bridges, died in office. On December 7, 1961, Governor Powell appointed Murphy as U.S. Senator, to fill the vacancy until a November 1962 special election. Powell's choice of Murphy was controversial; powerful publisher William Loeb published a front-page editorial in the ''

Manchester Union Leader The ''New Hampshire Union Leader'' is a daily newspaper from Manchester, the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. On Sundays, it publishes as the ''New Hampshire Sunday News.'' Founded in 1863, the paper was best known for the ...

'' attacking Powell for passing over the late Senator's widow

Doloris Bridges Doloris Bridges (May 28, 1916 – January 16, 1969), widow of 25-year U.S. Senator H. Styles Bridges, was the first woman to seek election to the U.S. Senate from New Hampshire. Considered an example of staunchly anti-communist women who emerged ...

."Charm of Murphy and Avid Workers Help Cause," Nashua Telegraph, August 21, 1962 at 1-3. Many political observers expected that Mrs. Bridges would be appointed to her husband's seat. Murphy voted in favor of the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Murphy ran in the 1962 election in an effort to keep his seat. However, Murphy was challenged in the primary by Doloris Bridges, Congressman

Perkins Bass Perkins Bass (October 6, 1912 – October 25, 2011) was an American elected official from the state of New Hampshire, including four terms as a U.S. representative from 1955 to 1963. Biography Bass was born on October 6, 1912, in East Walpole, ...

, and Congressman Chester Merrow. Murphy finished third behind Bass and Mrs. Bridges."Bass Defeats Mrs. Bridges for Senate Seat," Nashua Telegraph September 12, 1962 at 1. Governor Powell, too, was defeated in that primary, and in his election night speech, he referenced Loeb's opposition and added that "I'm paying the penalty for appointing a Catholic to the U.S. Senate." He later served on the Portsmouth Economic Commission, Portsmouth Housing Authority and was elected chairman of the board of the Portsmouth-Kittery Armed Services Committee (now called the Seacoast Shipyard Association). He served on the New Hampshire Boundary Commission from 1973 to 1975.Manual for the General Court (1975)
/ref>

Later life and death

Murphy then resumed the practice of law. He was chairman of the board and general counsel of the Portsmouth (N.H.) Savings Bank from 1968 to 1988. At the time of his death in 2002, he resided in

Stratham, New Hampshire Stratham is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town had a population of 7,669 at the 2020 census. It is bounded on the west by the Squamscott River. The town is the home of the only U.S. Lindt & Sprüngli factory and ...

. He was interred in Prospect Hill Cemetery in

Greenland, New Hampshire Greenland is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,067 at the 2020 census, up from 3,549 at the 2010 census. It is drained by the Winnicut River and bounded on the northwest by Great Bay. History On ...

Personal life

He was married to Mary E. Doody.Mary Elizabeth Murphy obituary
/ref> They had three children. His wife died in 2016.

References

;Citations ;Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Maurice J. Jr. 1927 births 2002 deaths People from Dover, New Hampshire College of the Holy Cross alumni Boston College Law School alumni United States Army soldiers New Hampshire Attorneys General New Hampshire Republicans Republican Party United States senators from New Hampshire People from Stratham, New Hampshire 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Dover High School (New Hampshire) alumni