Malcolm Nichols

Malcolm E. Nichols (May 8, 1876 – February 7, 1951) was a journalist and a U.S. political figure. Nichols served as the mayor of Boston in the late 1920s. He was the last Boston Brahmin as well as the last Republican to serve in that post.

Family life

Mayor Nichols was the son of Edwin T. Nichols and Helen J. G. (Pingree) Nichols. He was married on December 16, 1915, to Edith M. Williams (died 1925). They had three children, sons Clark S.^[5] and Dexter, and daughter Marjorie.^[6] In 1926 he married Edith's twin sister Carrie Marjorie Williams.^[6] His son Clark acted as his best man and his son Dexter acted as the ring bearer.^[5][7][8]

Newspaper career

Nichols was the Massachusetts State House reporter for The Boston Traveler^[9] covering both houses of the legislature, and later a political reporter for The Boston Post.^[4]

Public service career

In addition to his newspaper work Nichols was a Port Collector ^[10] of Internal Revenue, a lawyer, a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1907–09, where he was a member and clerk of the House Committee on Metropolitan affairs,^[1] a member of Massachusetts Senate, 1914, 1917–19, and Mayor of Boston, 1926-30 (defeated, 1933, 1937, 1941).

Religious and social involvement

Nichols was a Swedenborgian and of English ancestry. He was a member of the Freemasons, Shriners, and Elks.

Death and Burial

Mayor Nichols died of a heart attack, in Jamaica Plain, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, February 7, 1951. He was interred in Forest Hills Cemetery in the Jamaica Plains section of Boston.

See also

• Timeline of Boston, 1900s-1920s

References

1. 1 2 3 Who's who in State Politics, 1908, Boston, MA: Practical Politics, 1908, p. 265 
2. ↑ Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court, Boston, MA: Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1918, p. 554 
3. ↑ Marden, George Augustus (1908), A Manual for the Use of the General Court, Boston, MA: Massachusetts General Court, p. 437 
4. 1 2 Harvard College Class of 1899 List of Addresses, Occupations, Marriages, Births, and Deaths, Cambridge, MA: Harvard College Class of 1899, June 1905, p. 21 
5. 1 2 "Son, 9, Best Man at Wedding Of Mayor Nichols of Boston", Amusments, The New York Times, p. 31, 23 November 1926 
6. 1 2 Time, 6 December 1926  Missing or empty |title= (help)
7. ↑ "BOSTON'S MAYOR WED; 9-YEAR SON BEST MAN; Mr. Nichols's Bride Twin Sister of Late Wife-Church Crowded at Ceremony", Amusements, The New York Times, p. 17, 27 November 1926 
8. ↑ Time, 27 November 1926  Missing or empty |title= (help)
9. ↑ Gifford, Stephen Nye (1904), A Manual for the Use of the General Court, Boston, MA: Massachusetts General Court, p. 473 
10. ↑ "REPUBLICAN WINS BOSTON MAYORALTY; Nichols Has 22,000 Lead Over Nearest Democrat, One of Seven Rivals. KLAN BEATEN IN DETROIT Mayor Smith, Whom It Fought, Has 16,692 Lead in Half the City. REPUBLICAN WINS BOSTON MAYORALTY", The New York Times, p. 1, 4 November 1925 

Bibliography

• Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court by the Secretary of the Commonwealth (1918) p. 554.
• Who's who in State Politics, 1908 Practical Politics (1908) p. 265.

External links

• Malcolm E. Nichols entry at The Political Graveyard
• Malcolm Nichols at Find a Grave