Endicott Peabody

Endicott Howard Peabody (February 15, 1920 – December 2, 1997) was an American politician from Massachusetts. A Democrat, he served a single two-year term as the 62nd Governor of Massachusetts, from 1963 to 1965. His tenure is probably best known for his categorical opposition to the death penalty and for signing into law the bill establishing the University of Massachusetts Boston. After losing the 1964 Democratic gubernatorial primary, Peabody made several more failed bids for office in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, including failed campaigns for the U.S. Senate in 1966 and 1986.

Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts to a family with deep colonial roots, Peabody played college football at Harvard University, where he earned honors as an All-American lineman. He served in the United States Navy in World War II before embarking on a political career noted more for its failures than its successes. He made multiple unsuccessful attempts to win the position of Massachusetts Attorney General, and for the United States Senate representing both Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and ran for United States Vice President in 1972.

Endicott Peabody, nicknamed "Chub", was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of Mary Elizabeth (née Parkman) and the Reverend Malcolm E. Peabody, an Episcopal Bishop of Central New York. He was a grandson of the founder of Groton School and Brooks School, also named Endicott Peabody, and was a descendant of colonial governor John Endecott. His maternal grandfather, Henry Parkman, was a Boston businessman and politician.

Peabody first attended the William Penn Charter School, and graduated in 1938 from the Groton School. He earned his A.B. from Harvard College in 1942, majoring in history. Peabody played on the Harvard Crimson football team and also played ice hockey and tennis. He stood out in football, where he was known as the "baby-faced assassin", playing three seasons on the varsity squad, and was the only unanimous choice for the 1941 College Football All-America Team. He was awarded the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy for best collegiate lineman in 1941, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973.

Peabody served in the United States Navy during World War II, primarily as a Lieutenant aboard the USS Tirante in the Pacific Ocean theater. He led several boarding parties involving hand-to-hand combat, for which he was awarded several commendations including the Silver Star.

While serving in the war, Peabody decided to embark on a career in politics. After the war ended, he attended Harvard Law School, receiving his J.D. degree and attaining admission to the Massachusetts bar in 1948. His first political work was on the 1948 presidential campaign of Harry S. Truman. Truman appointed him an Assistant Regional Counsel for the Office of Price Stabilization in 1950 and Regional Counsel for the Small Defense Plants Administration in 1952. In 1954 he won election to the Massachusetts Governor's Council, serving one two-year term. In 1958, Peabody ran for Attorney General of Massachusetts, but lost in the Democratic primary to Edward McCormack, Jr. by nine percentage points. In 1960, he ran for Governor of Massachusetts, but came in second (out of seven candidates) in the Democratic primary with 25.5% of the vote. In that year's presidential election, he coordinated John F. Kennedy's campaigns in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire.

In the 1962 gubernatorial election, Peabody was victorious in the race for governor, upsetting the Republican incumbent John A. Volpe by only 4,431 votes out of over two million cast. Peabody's campaign manager was his law partner Joseph M. Koufman. Peabody was aided in the victory by endorsements from President Kennedy, and by the coattails of Ted Kennedy's victory in the coinciding race for the president's former United States Senate seat.

During his administration, voters approved a state constitutional amendment extending the terms of office of all state constitutional officers from two years to four years, starting from the next election. Peabody advocated laws to prevent discrimination in housing and to establish drug addiction treatment programs. He also strongly opposed capital punishment and "vowed that he would not sign a death warrant even for the Boston Strangler, if he were ever caught and convicted." This position was controversial, especially because several police officers were killed in the line of duty in the state during his tenure. Peabody recommended the commutation of every death sentence that he reviewed while governor. Massachusetts' last executions took place in 1947, though the penalty itself remained in force. On June 18, 1964, Peabody signed into law the bill establishing the University of Massachusetts Boston.