Josiah Quincy Jr.
American politician, mayor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American politician, mayor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Josiah Quincy IV (/ˈkwɪnzi/; January 17, 1802 – November 2, 1882)[1] was an American politician. He served as mayor of Boston from December 11, 1845 to January 1, 1849, following the footsteps of his father, Josiah Quincy III (mayor from 1823 to 1828), and grandson, Josiah Quincy VI (mayor from 1895 to 1899).
Josiah Quincy IV | |
|---|---|
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| Mayor of Boston | |
| In office December 11, 1845 – January 1, 1849 (acting: December 11, 1845 – January 5, 1846) | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Aspinwall Davis Benson Leavitt (acting) |
| Succeeded by | John P. Bigelow |
| President of the Boston Common Council | |
| In office 1834–1857 | |
| Preceded by | John P. Bigelow |
| Succeeded by | Philip Marett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 17, 1802 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | November 2, 1882 (aged 80) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Whig |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Mayor Davis died on November 22, 1845. Benson Leavitt, Chairman of the Board of Aldermen served as Acting Mayor from November 22, 1845 to December 11, 1845. After Quincy was elected Mayor on December 8, 1845 for the term beginning January 5, 1846, Quincy was appointed by the city council as acting mayor on December 11, 1845 to serve out Mayor Davis' term. | |
He attended Philips Academy in Andover and graduated from Harvard College in 1821.
He was elected a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts in 1823 and became its captain in 1829 at the age of 27.
He authored Figures of the Past in 1883.[2]
As a member of the Massachusetts State Legislature in 1837, he played a crucial role in establishing the Massachusetts Board of Education. He built the Josiah Quincy Mansion in 1848.[3]
He was elected to the Boston Common Council in 1833 and served as its president from 1834 to 1857.
He served as mayor of Boston from 1845 to 1849, and as treasurer of the Boston Athenaeum from 1837 to 1852.
In 1844, while traveling with Charles Francis Adams, Josiah Quincy met Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in Nauvoo, Illinois. During the visit, Adams received a copy of the Book of Mormon which had previously belonged to Smith's wife, Emma Smith. The book is now in the archive collections of Adams National Historical Park. [4]At the visit, Smith showed Adams and Quincy four Egyptian mummies and ancient papyri. Adams was unimpressed by Smith, and wrote in his diary entry that day, "Such a man is a study not for himself, but as serving to show what turns the human mind will sometimes take. And herafter if I should live, I may compare the results of this delusion with the condition in which I saw it and its mountebank apostle."[5]
His brother Edmund (1808–1877) was a prominent abolitionist, and author of the biography of his father and of a romance, Wensley (1854). A sister, Anna Cabot Lowell Quincy Waterston, was a writer; and another sister, Eliza Susan (1798–1884) served as her father's secretary and wrote the biography of their mother.[2]
Quincy had two sons — Josiah Phillips (1829–1910), a lawyer, who wrote, besides some verse, The Protection of Majorities (1876) and Double Taxation in Massachusetts (1889); and Samuel Miller (1833–1887), who practised law, wrote on legal subjects, served in the Union army during the Civil War, and was breveted brigadier-general of volunteers in 1865. [2]
A descendant of his, through her mother, was Helen Howe, a novelist.
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