Henry Parkman Jr.

Henry Parkman Jr. (April 26, 1894 – May 27, 1958) was an American politician who served in various offices in Massachusetts and the United States federal government. Early life Parkman was born on April 26, 1894. His father, Henry Parkman Sr., was treasurer of the Providence Institute for Savings and served as a member of the Boston Common Council, Massachusetts House of Representatives, Massachusetts Senate, state prison commission, and a delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1917. Parkman graduated from Harvard College in 1915 and attended Harvard Law School for two years before leaving to serve in the United States Army. During World War I, Parkman was a captain in the 76th and 80th Infantry Divisions. After the war, Parkman went in the transportation business, delivering goods from New England manufacturers to the Pacific Coast via the Panama Canal. He later finished his legal studies at Northeastern University Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1924. He joined the firm of Putnam, Bell, Dutch & Santry. Political career On July 1, 1925, Parkman became the first person to announce his candidacy for the new 22-ward City Council. He was elected to represent Ward 5. In 1927, Parkman, a Republican, cast the deciding vote for John Heffernan, a Democrat, for council president. Heffernan's law office was in the same building as Parkman. In 1928 he challenged long-time party leader Charles Hiller Innes in a high-profile contest to be the 11th Congressional District delegate to the Republican National Convention. Parkman ran a campaign against bossism and stated that "Mr. Innes does not represent the party, but only a small number who have made a business out of politics". It was the first time in 26 years that Innes face a serious challenger. Parkman topped the ticket with 8,055 votes and his running mate, G. Gordon Watt received 7,082 to votes to Innes 6,017 his running mate, Walter R. Meins', 5,989 votes in a contest where the top two were elected.