Alvan T. Fuller
Encyclopedia
Alvan Tufts Fuller was a United States Representative from Massachusetts
. He became one of the wealthiest men in America, with an automobile dealership which in 1920 was recognized as "the world's most successful auto dealership." He was elected a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
, and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention
in 1916. He was then elected as Governor of Massachusetts, serving from 1925-1929.
business. He founded and grew wealthy from his ownership of Boston's Packard
dealership. He served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
and as a delegate to the Republican National Convention
in 1916. He was elected as a Republican
to the Sixty-fifth Congress
and reelected to the Sixty-sixth Congress
, serving from March 4, 1917, to January 5, 1921. Fuller served as Lieutenant Governor
from 1921 to 1924, and he was elected 50th Governor
in 1924. He was reelected to a second two-year term. He did not accept compensation for services while in public office.
As governor, Fuller faced a significant budget deficit that required initiatives to reduce expenditures and downsize government operations. His term as governor also coincided with the Sacco and Vanzetti
affair, a series of trials for murder and robbery followed by legal appeals that culminated in calls for the governor to commute the death sentences of the two Italian immigrants. Governor Fuller appointed a three-member panel of Harvard
President Abbott Lawrence Lowell
, MIT
President Dr. Samuel W. Stratton, and retired Probate Judge Robert Grant
to conduct a complete review of the case and determine if the trials were fair. The committee reported that no new trial was called for and based on that assessment Governor Fuller refused to delay their executions or grant clemency. On May 10, 1927, while Fuller was considering requests for clemency, a package bomb addressed to him was intercepted in the Boston post office. A few months after the executions, he endorsed proposals to reform the state's judicial procedures to require a more thorough review of capital cases.
In 1928, he was an early supporter of Herbert Hoover's
presidential campaign, after considering his own run for the presidency, and was rumored to be a candidate for a federal government if Hoover won, possibly as ambassador to France.
After leaving office, he became chairman of the board of Cadillac-Oldsmobile Co. of Boston and continued to develop his reputation as a patron of arts and music. He died in Boston on April 30, 1958.
He was a superb collector of art and among those painters represented in his collection were: Renoir, Rembrandt, Turner, Gainsborough, Sargent, Monet, Van Dyck, Romney, Boccaccino, Boucher and Reynolds. His paintings were donated to the National Gallery of Art in Washington and The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Donations include: Monet's "The Water Lily Pond," Renoir's "Boating Couple," and van Dyck's "Princess Mary, Daughter of Charles I."
His philanthropy was wide ranging and included art, hospitals, education, religion, municipalities and social services. He established The Fuller Foundation, Inc., during his lifetime and it was, and continues to be, the instrument through which many charitable agencies have benefited in the Greater Boston and Seacoast area of New Hampshire.
He was interred in East Cemetery in Rye Beach, New Hampshire
, where he had a summer home.
His wife, Viola Theresa Davenport Fuller, died in 1959. She had a brief career as an opera singer, performing in Paris and then debuting in Boston in 1910. She and the governor had four children, two boys and two girls.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He became one of the wealthiest men in America, with an automobile dealership which in 1920 was recognized as "the world's most successful auto dealership." He was elected a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
, and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
in 1916. He was then elected as Governor of Massachusetts, serving from 1925-1929.
Biography
He was born in Boston on February 27, 1878. He attended the public schools and first worked in the bicycleBicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
business. He founded and grew wealthy from his ownership of Boston's Packard
Packard
Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...
dealership. He served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
and as a delegate to the Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
in 1916. He was elected as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to the Sixty-fifth Congress
65th United States Congress
The Sixty-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1917 to March 4, 1919, during the fourth and fifth...
and reelected to the Sixty-sixth Congress
66th United States Congress
The Sixty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1919 to March 4, 1921, during the last two years of...
, serving from March 4, 1917, to January 5, 1921. Fuller served as Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
The Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts...
from 1921 to 1924, and he was elected 50th Governor
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
in 1924. He was reelected to a second two-year term. He did not accept compensation for services while in public office.
As governor, Fuller faced a significant budget deficit that required initiatives to reduce expenditures and downsize government operations. His term as governor also coincided with the Sacco and Vanzetti
Sacco and Vanzetti
Ferdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were anarchists who were convicted of murdering two men during a 1920 armed robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts, United States...
affair, a series of trials for murder and robbery followed by legal appeals that culminated in calls for the governor to commute the death sentences of the two Italian immigrants. Governor Fuller appointed a three-member panel of Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
President Abbott Lawrence Lowell
Abbott Lawrence Lowell
Abbott Lawrence Lowell was a U.S. educator and legal scholar. He served as President of Harvard University from 1909 to 1933....
, MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
President Dr. Samuel W. Stratton, and retired Probate Judge Robert Grant
Robert Grant (novelist)
Robert Grant was an American author and a jurist who participated in a review of the Sacco and Vanzetti trial a few weeks before their executions.-Biography:...
to conduct a complete review of the case and determine if the trials were fair. The committee reported that no new trial was called for and based on that assessment Governor Fuller refused to delay their executions or grant clemency. On May 10, 1927, while Fuller was considering requests for clemency, a package bomb addressed to him was intercepted in the Boston post office. A few months after the executions, he endorsed proposals to reform the state's judicial procedures to require a more thorough review of capital cases.
In 1928, he was an early supporter of Herbert Hoover's
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
presidential campaign, after considering his own run for the presidency, and was rumored to be a candidate for a federal government if Hoover won, possibly as ambassador to France.
After leaving office, he became chairman of the board of Cadillac-Oldsmobile Co. of Boston and continued to develop his reputation as a patron of arts and music. He died in Boston on April 30, 1958.
He was a superb collector of art and among those painters represented in his collection were: Renoir, Rembrandt, Turner, Gainsborough, Sargent, Monet, Van Dyck, Romney, Boccaccino, Boucher and Reynolds. His paintings were donated to the National Gallery of Art in Washington and The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Donations include: Monet's "The Water Lily Pond," Renoir's "Boating Couple," and van Dyck's "Princess Mary, Daughter of Charles I."
His philanthropy was wide ranging and included art, hospitals, education, religion, municipalities and social services. He established The Fuller Foundation, Inc., during his lifetime and it was, and continues to be, the instrument through which many charitable agencies have benefited in the Greater Boston and Seacoast area of New Hampshire.
He was interred in East Cemetery in Rye Beach, New Hampshire
Rye Beach, New Hampshire
Rye Beach is a community along the Atlantic Ocean in Rye, New Hampshire in the United States. It is located along New Hampshire Route 1A near the southern border of the town of Rye, directly south of Jenness Beach State Park and north of Little Boar's Head .The Ocean House built in 1844 was owned...
, where he had a summer home.
His wife, Viola Theresa Davenport Fuller, died in 1959. She had a brief career as an opera singer, performing in Paris and then debuting in Boston in 1910. She and the governor had four children, two boys and two girls.