Chester A. Dolan, Jr.

Chester A. Dolan Jr. was an American politician who served as President of the Massachusetts Senate from 1949 to 1950. He was the first Democrat to hold this position in 106 years.

Early life Dolan was born on September 20, 1907, in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood. He attended Lowell Grammar School, High School of Commerce, Harvard Extension School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Suffolk University Law School. Prior to entering politics, Dolan was a semi-pro baseball player.

Political career

Dolan served one term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives before being elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 1938. Dolan was named Democratic Floor Leader in 1941, but gave up that position to serve in the United States Army. Dolan resigned from the House on August 18, 1942, and enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He was assigned to intelligence and after attending officers training school, was sworn in as a lieutenant and assigned to the Twelfth Air Force. The Senate met for the first time at 11 am on January 5, 1949. The adjourned at 3:45 am the next day, still deadlocked after record 33 ballots. The stalemate finally ended on January 27 after 114 total ballots when the two sides agreed to have Dolan serve as President in 1949 and Harris S. Richardson serve in 1950. As part of the agreement, the Democrats received a majority on the Senate Ways and Means Committee for the full two years and all of the Republican-appointed employees of the Senate were assured of their jobs. In 1964 he resigned his position as clerk to become Chief Executive Officer of the Guaranty Trust Company in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later served as president and chief executive officer of WORL Radio and Cranberry Corp. and was president of Pinewood Corp.

Dolan died on September 7, 1994, in Wareham, Massachusetts.