John William McCormack
| John William McCormack | |
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McCormack in 1965
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45th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives |
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In office January 10, 1962 – January 3, 1971 |
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| President |
John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | Sam Rayburn |
| Succeeded by | Carl Albert |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 9th district |
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In office January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1971 |
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| Preceded by | Hastings Keith |
| Succeeded by | Louise D. Hicks |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 12th district |
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In office November 6, 1928 – January 3, 1963 |
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| Preceded by | James A. Gallivan |
| Succeeded by | Hastings Keith |
| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 11th Suffolk district |
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In office 1920–1922 |
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| Member of the Massachusetts Senate | |
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In office 1923-1926 |
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| Personal details | |
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December 21, 1891 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | November 22, 1980 (aged 88) Dedham, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) |
Harriet McCormack (m.1920–1971; her death) |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Harriet McCormack
John William McCormack (December 21, 1891 – November 22, 1980) was an American politician who served as the 45th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1962 to 1971, representing Massachusetts as a Democrat from 1928 to 1971, their longest-serving congressman.
McCormack was born in Boston to Joseph H. McCormack, a hod carrier and native of Prince Edward Island, Canada, and his wife Mary Ellen (O'Brien) McCormack of Boston (1861-1913). He said he was one of 12 children, several of whom died as children or young adults. In fact, Mary Ellen McCormack carried eight children to term, and six lived long enough to be counted in he census or included in other records. John McCormack's older siblings Patrick (d.1911), Catherine (d. 1906), and James (d. 1906) died at ages 24, 19 and 17, respectively. His brother Edward ("Knocko") died in Boston in 1963 at age 67. McCormack's brother Donald died in Texas in 1966 at the age of 65. McCormack also had a half brother named Harry from his father's first marriage; Harry died on Prince Edward Island at age 18 in 1902.
McCormack said for most of his life that his father died when McCormack was 13; other sources indicate that his father actually left the family and moved to Waldoboro, Maine, where he worked in the local granite quarries. He died in 1929, and was buried in a pauper's grave at Waldoboro Rural Cemetery.
McCormack attended the John Andrew Grammar School through the eighth grade. He then left school to help support his family, initially working for $3 a week as an errand boy for a brokerage firm. McCormack and his brothers also managed a large newspaper delivery route for $11 a week. He later left the brokerage for the office of attorney William T. Way, where he received a 50-cent a week increase. He began to study law with Way and passed the Massachusetts bar exam at age 21, despite not having gone to high school or college.
As a young man, McCormack began his involvement in politics by making campaign speeches on behalf of other Democratic candidates. In May 1917, McCormack was elected to serve as a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1917, representing the 11th Suffolk District of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
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