Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth (secretary of state) is the principal public information officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Massachusetts.

The Secretary of the Commonwealth oversees the Corporations Division, the Elections Division, the Massachusetts Archives, the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the Public Records Division, the Securities Division, and the State Records Center.

The current secretary is William F. Galvin.

List of Secretaries of the Commonwealth (1780 to Present)

#	Secretary of the Commonwealth	Picture	Years	Party	Notes
1	John Avery, Jr.		January 1, 1780 – June 7, 1806[1]	Pro-Administration/Federalist	Succeeded Samuel Adams, who had been Secretary of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from August 15, 1776 until January 1, 1780. Avery died in office, June 7, 1806.[1]
2	Jonathan L. Austin		1806–1808	Democratic-Republican
3	William Tudor		1808–1810	Federalist
4	Benjamin Homans		1810–1812	Democratic-Republican
5	Alden Bradford		1812–1824	Federalist/National Republican
6	Edward D. Bangs		1824–1836	National Republican/Whig
7	John P. Bigelow		1836–1843	Whig	Later served as the 12th Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts (1849–1851).
8	John A. Bolles		1843–1844	Whig
9	John G. Palfrey		1844–1848	Whig
10	William B. Calhoun		January 1848[2] – 1851	Whig[3]
11	Amasa Walker		1851–1853	Whig
12	Ephraim M. Wright		1853–1856	Whig
13	Francis De Witt		1856–1858	Know Nothing
14	Oliver Warner		1858–1876	Republican
15	Henry B. Pierce		1876–1891	Republican
16	William M. Olin		1891 – April 15, 1911	Republican	Died in office April 15, 1911.
Acting	Isaac H. Edgett		April 15, 1911-April 28, 1911.[4]	Republican	Edgett, was the First Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth under William M. Olin. As the First Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth Edgett became the acting Secretary of the Commonwealth upon Olin's death. Edgett served as the acting Secretary of the Commonwealth[5] until Albert P. Langtry was elected by the Massachusetts legislature to serve out the remainder of Olin's term.
17	Albert P. Langtry		April 28, 1911[4]	Republican[6]	Elected by the Legislature, on April 26, 1911, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William M. Olin. Langtry assumed the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth on April 28, 1911.[4]
18	Frank J. Donahue		January 15, 1913–1915	Democratic[6]
19	Albert P. Langtry		1915–1921	Republican
20	Frederic W. Cook		1921–1949	Republican[7]
21	Edward J. Cronin		1949 – November 24, 1958	Democratic	Died in office on November 24, 1958.
Acting	J. Henry Goguen		December 1, 1958 – January 20, 1959	Democratic
22	Joseph D. Ward		January 20, 1959–1961	Democratic[8]
23	Kevin H. White		1961–1967	Democratic	Later served as the 51st Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts (1968–1984).
24	John F. X. Davoren		1967–1974	Democratic
25	Paul H. Guzzi		1975–1978	Democratic
26	Michael J. Connolly		1979–1994	Democratic
27	William F. Galvin		1995 – present	Democratic

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Roberts, Oliver Ayer (1901), History of the Military company of the Massachusetts, now called the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts 1637-1888. Vol. II - 1738-1821, Boston, MA: Alfred Mudge & Son, Printers, p. 196. 
2. ^ Dexter, Franklin Bowditch (1912), Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College With Annals of the College History, Vol. VI September; 1805 - September; 1815, New Haven, Ct: Yale University Press, p. 629. 
3. ^ William B. Calhoun at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2007-10-06.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Boston Daily Globe (April 29, 1911), LANGTRY IN NEW OFFICE. The Netherlands Club Pays Him a Visit and Presents Him a Bunch of Roses., Boston, Mass: Boston Daily Globe, p. 9. 
5. ^ Boston Daily Globe (April 18, 1911), HOUSE RECORDED FOR INCOME TAX Walker Asks Reconsideration--- Senate Adopts 54-Hour Bill. Insane Hospital Inquiry Killed--- Anti-Lorimer Resolution. IMPORTANT EVENTS AT STATE HOUSE YESTERDAY., Boston, MA: The Boston Daily Globe, p. 1 
6. ^ ^{a b} "FOSS AND FROTHINGHAM WIN." (PDF). The New York Times: pp. 2. 1911-09-27. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9F06E3D91131E233A25754C2A96F9C946096D6CF&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2007-10-06. 
7. ^ "MANY SEEK OFFICE IN MASSACHUSETTS". The New York Times: pp. 6. 1922-08-09. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F07E0DC1339EF3ABC4153DFBE668389639EDE. Retrieved 2007-10-06. 
8. ^ "In Memoriam". Holy Cross Magazine. Archived from the original on 2004-09-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20040905095533/http://www.holycross.edu/departments/publicaffairs/hcm/summer03/in_memoriam/1927.html.  Summer 2003. Retrieved on 2007-10-06.

• "THE STATES" (PDF). National Association of Secretaries of State. http://nass.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=4. Retrieved 2007-10-06. 
• "Special Collections - Burrill File". State Library of Massachusetts. http://www.mass.gov/lib/collections/sc/burrill.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-06. 

External links

• Official site