James Michael Curley (November 20, 1874 – November 12, 1958) was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He served four terms as mayor of Boston between 1914 and 1955. Curley ran for mayor in every election for which he was legally qualified.

Nov 5, 2023 · James Michael Curley stands with his family at his home in Boston on Nov. 26, 1947, after returning from Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Conn. Curley was convicted of mail fraud and sentenced to six to 18 months, though he only served five.

Apr 14, 2005 · He particularly enjoyed being referred to as “The Mayor of the Poor.” Although he enjoyed the appellation, he did not want to be of the poor himself and went to great lengths to garner every dollar he could, by any means necessary. His quest for personal economic stability guided his every move. There was always something in it for Jim.

Aug 29, 2023 · As mayor, Curley exhibited the political philosophy that would continue all his life—a proto-New Deal two decades before FDR’s election. Calling himself “the mayor of the poor,” he spent city money hiring workers to pave roads, expand the city hospital and build schools, sewers and playgrounds.

Sep 23, 2013 · James Michael Curley was a larger-than-life figure, a man whose legend outweighed his talent for governing, whose antipathy toward the wealthy was as genuine as his empathy for the poor and the needy.

Nov 30, 2024 · James Michael Curley (1874-1958) was born in Boston to poor Irish immigrants in a low-lying neighborhood plagued by overflowing outhouses. His father died while working on the job as a day...

When he died at age 83 in 1958, Curley had run Massachusetts as Governor for a term and was four times sent to the U.S. House of Representatives. But he was mayor of Boston (“Mayor of the...

James Michael Curley was an American politician, one of the best known and most colourful big-city Democratic bosses, who dominated Boston politics throughout the first half of the 20th century. Reared in an Irish tenement neighbourhood, Curley never forgot the needs of new immigrants, and he owed.

Mar 16, 2021 · Curley, for all of his theft, his “honest graft,” and his demagoguery, did accomplish good things, and there was a reason that he was called “the Mayor of the Poor.” His constituents didn’t have much, but he was able to give them jobs in many cases, and through jobs, dignity.

Jan 28, 2023 · He is best-known as Mayor of Boston, an office he held for sixteen years, over four decades. Imaginative, visionary, bold and frequently ruthless, magical orator and skillful administrator, he spent his life as ardent champion of the poor.