Quick Facts
Biography
Arthur William Coolidge (October 13, 1881 – January 23, 1952 ) was a Massachusetts politician who served multiple positions within the state government.
Born in Cumberland County, Maine, Coolidge worked as a lawyer before becoming a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1937–1940) and of the Massachusetts State Senate (1941–1946). From 1947 to 1949 he was the 56th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. He was the Republican nominee for Governor in 1950.
He was a Republican and a Unitarian, a Freemason, serving as Grand Master of Masons (1943–1944) and a member of the American Bar Association and Theta Delta Chi. In 1951 he was elected as a member of the Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
He had one daughter, Dorothy Coolidge Cox and two sons: Robert Tilton Coolidge (1915–1955) and Arthur William Coolidge II . A fourth cousin to President Calvin Coolidge, he was also a ninth generation descendent of Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Colony. One of his grandchildren is film director Martha Coolidge.
Coolidge is buried in Forest Glen Cemetery, Reading, Massachusetts. The Arthur W. Coolidge Middle School, formerly Junior High School, was named in his honor.