Robert T. Bushnell
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Robert Tyng Bushnell (January 9, 1896 — October 23, 1949) was an American politician who served as
Massachusetts Attorney General The Massachusetts attorney general is an elected constitutionally defined executive officer of the Massachusetts government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The officeholder ...
from 1941 to 1945.


Early life and career

Born in New York City, Robert Tyng Bushnell graduated from
Phillips Andover Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a private, co-educational college-preparatory school for boarding and day students located in Andover, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. The academy enrolls ...
,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
. From 1927 to 1931, Bushnell served as District Attorney of Middlesex County, President of the Republican Club of Massachusetts, and chairman of the Boston chapter of the
Motion Picture Research Council In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and frame of reference to an observ ...
before being elected Attorney General.


Attorney General of Massachusetts

As Attorney General, Bushnell lead the investigation into the
Cocoanut Grove fire The Cocoanut Grove fire was a nightclub fire which took place in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 28, 1942, and resulted in the deaths of 492 people. It is the deadliest nightclub fire in history and the third-deadliest single-building fire (a ...
. Bushnell's investigation resulted a reform of fire codes and club owner Barney Welansky being convicted of
involuntary manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
. In 1941, Bushnell and state representative Benjamin Priest conducted the prosecution during the impeachment trial of
Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Council ...
or Daniel H. Coakley. On October 2, 1941, the
Massachusetts 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 st ...
found Coakley guilty on 10 of the 14 articles on impeachment. The Senate voted 28 to 10 to remove Coakley from office and 23 to 15 to bar him for life from holding a place of "profit or honor or trust" in the Commonwealth. In 1942, Bushnell tried to have fascist leader
Edward Holton James Edward Holton James (November 18, 1873 – October 3, 1954) was an American socialist and, later, fascist. He was the nephew of philosopher William James and novelist Henry James. Biography James was born in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, to Robert ...
committed to a psychiatric state hospital after he was indicted on charges of criminal libel. In 1943, he indicted Boston Police Commissioner Joseph F. Timilty and six of his subordinates on charges of conspiracy to permit the operation of gambling houses and the registration of bets.


Death

Bushnell died of a heart attack on October 23, 1949, in his suite at the Hotel Royalton in New York City.


References

1896 births 1949 deaths District attorneys in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Harvard Law School alumni Massachusetts attorneys general Politicians from Newton, Massachusetts Politicians from New York City Massachusetts Republicans Lawyers from New York City 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century Massachusetts politicians {{Massachusetts-politician-stub