Robert Quentin Crane (March 21, 1926 – January 5, 2018) was an American politician who served as

Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts The treasurer and receiver-general of Massachusetts is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Originally appointed under authority of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, English Crown pursuan ...

from 1964 to 1991. He was credited with starting the

Massachusetts Lottery The Massachusetts Lottery was established on September 27, 1971, following the legalization of gambling by the Massachusetts General Court, the legislature of the Commonwealth. The Lottery is administered by the Massachusetts State Lottery Comm ...

Early life

Crane was born in 1926 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 received his education at

English High School of Boston The English High School in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1821, is one of the first public high schools in the United States. Originally called The English Classical School, it was renamed upon its first relocation in 1824.''Encyclopædia Bri ...

and

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 ...

. Crane served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

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 ...

Career

Crane served 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 ...

from 1957 to 1964. He served as the chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party. Crane was appointed state treasurer in 1964. He defeated

Louise Day Hicks Anna Louise Day Hicks (October 16, 1916 – October 21, 2003) was an American politician and lawyer from Boston, Massachusetts, best known for her staunch opposition to desegregation in Boston public schools, and especially to court-ordered ...

, John Francis Kennedy, and John J. Buckley for the Democratic party's nomination in 1964. He went on to easily defeat Republican Robert C. Hahn in the general election. In 1971, became the founding chairman of the Massachusetts State Lottery. The closest Crane came to losing his office was in 1974 when he defeated Charles Mark Furcolo, a Boston attorney and son of former governor John Foster Furcolo, 51%-49% in the Democratic primary. He retired from politics in 1991, amid accusations of patronage and nepotism.

Death

Crane died on January 5, 2018, aged 91.

References

1926 births 2018 deaths Boston College alumni English High School of Boston alumni Massachusetts Democratic Party chairs Politicians from Wellesley, Massachusetts Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island Military personnel from Massachusetts State treasurers of Massachusetts Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Catholics from Massachusetts Catholics from Rhode Island 20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court {{Massachusetts-politician-stub