Francis X. Ahearn
{{Short description|American politician (1917–2006)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Francis X. Ahearn
| image = Francis X. Ahearn (1953).png
| office = President of the Boston City Council
| term_start = 1953
| term_end = 1954
| predecessor = Gabriel F. Piemonte
| successor = Joseph C. White
| office1 = Member of the Boston City Council
| term_start1 = 1952
| term_end1 = 1958
| predecessor1 =
| successor1 =
| birth_name = Francis Xavier Ahearn
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1917|02|26}}
| birth_place = Brighton, Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_place = Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2006|12|12|1917|02|26}}
| party = Democratic
| spouse = Doris E. Johnson
| children = 2 (including Rick Ahearn)
| residence =
| education = Boston College (AB, JD)
| signature = Francis Ahearn signature.png
| branch = United States Navy
| rank = Lieutenant (junior grade)[https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QaeT6tuuf81dDkvpWuNt41fHa8LQHwzFoxm_vEagCx8_hcR9-q4urGHB1iJw6EnjnJj8aNj9mHQaXIMc8005RMSgAaB9CwrmuAi5U7JKi-BNyKk4nDfkvyhLtamIBpz_hEKHSeuva8SRc8I3QSZsHIsaB2Olu6H2OK11xptN1gXqWkwhJqUGCy4D5e8QWdcvaS_valKDzEaGg4WUbHrPr9MHhfcxEuDdai279WE4diDkrxukduJM1AWqRsA3pcgUFWJhf86P-fTBil7OVwEFNMp_R3cXFA Register of Retired Commissioned and Warrant Officers, Regular and Reserve, of the United States Navy and Marine Corps]
| battles =
| unit = Naval Station Pearl Harbor
}}
Francis Xavier Ahearn[https://archive.org/details/bostoncollegebuge4041bost?q=Francis+Xavier+Ahearn Boston College bulletin (1940)] (February 26, 1917 – December 12, 2006) was an American politician who served on the Boston City Council from 1952 to 1958. He was the council president in 1953.
Early life
Ahearn was born on February 26, 1917, in Brighton.{{cite web|title=Francis X. Ahearn|url=http://www.tributes.com/obituary/show/Francis-X.-Ahearn-79182527|website=Tributes.com|publisher=Tributes, Inc.|access-date=March 11, 2017}} He graduated from Boston College in 1940 with a degree in economics and went on to attend Boston College Law School. In 1940 he married Doris E. Johnson, whom he first met when they attended junior high school. The couple had two sons, one of whom, Rick Ahearn, also became involved in politics. During World War II, Ahearn served in the United States Navy as a legal officer at the Naval Air Station at Pearl Harbor. After the war, Ahearn worked as an adjunct professor at Boston College Law School and Calvin Coolidge Law School/New England School of Law.{{cite news|last1=Corcoran|first1=Michael P.|title=Francis X. Ahearn, 89; was Boston City Council president; Francis X. Ahearn, 89; was council president, state aide|work=The Boston Globe|date=December 19, 2006}}
Political career
During the late 1940s, Ahearn served as the chairman of the Plan E for Boston Committee, a group that wanted the city to adopt a council/manager form of government.{{cite news|title='Plan 'Groups' Race for Names Awaits, Court's Decision|work=The Boston Daily Globe|date=February 11, 1949}}
In 1951, Ahearn was elected to the Boston City Council. The following year he was elected council president. As council president, Ahearn served as acting mayor on several occasions when Mayor John Hynes was unavailable, including when President Dwight D. Eisenhower visited Boston.
On March 8, 1957, Ahearn was appointed First Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth. He completed his term as councilor, but did not run for reelection.{{cite news|title=Cronin Names Ahearn Deputy State Secretary|work=The Boston Daily Globe|date=March 9, 1957}} In 1960, Ahearn was a candidate for Secretary of the Commonwealth. He lost in the Democratic primary to attorney Kevin White. He received 37% of the vote compared to White's 39%, with Margaret McGovern, Boston's assistant corporation counsel, receiving the remaining 24%.{{cite book |title=Massachusetts Election Statistics 1960 |pages=450 | url=https://archive.org/stream/electionstatisti1964mass#page/450/mode/2up }}
In 1962, Ahearn unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
Later life and death
After leaving the Secretary's office, Ahearn served as chief legal counsel to the State Appellate Tax Board.{{cite news|title=Short Circuits|work=The Boston Globe|date=April 5, 1981}}{{cite news|title='Job Buying' Alleged In Brookline Election|work=The Boston Globe|date=April 16, 1964}} He resided and practiced law in both Brighton and Cotuit, Massachusetts. He died on December 12, 2006, at a rehabilitation facility in Bourne, Massachusetts. He was survived by his wife Doris and their two children.
References
{{reflist}}
{{S-start}}
{{succession box | before = Gabriel F. Piemonte | title = President of the Boston City Council | years= 1953 | after = Joseph C. White | }}
{{S-end}}
{{Presidents of the Boston City Council|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahearn, Francis X.}}
Category:Presidents of the Boston City Council
Category:Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences alumni
Category:Boston College faculty
Category:Boston College Law School alumni
Category:Massachusetts Democrats
Category:People from Cotuit, Massachusetts
Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:United States Navy officers
Category:21st-century American lawyers
Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II