Paul F. Markham

Paul Francis Markham (May 22, 1930 – July 13, 2019) was an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 1966 to 1969. He was one of two associates of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, in whom Kennedy confided most closely during the Chappaquiddick incident. Markham, along with Kennedy's cousin Joseph Gargan, participated in a futile attempt to rescue Mary Jo Kopechne from Kennedy's submerged car, and also wrote down Kennedy's dictated statement to the police about the accident.

Early life and education Markham was born in Lowell, Massachusetts on May 22, 1930. He attended Georgetown Preparatory School and then Villanova University. He dropped out to serve in the Coast Guard before returning to earn a Bachelor of Arts in economics. He would then attend the Boston University School of Law.

United States Attorney's office In 1963, Markham was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. When Wendell Arthur Garrity Jr. accepted a judgeship on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Markham to succeed Garrity as the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. He remained a U.S. Attorney until 1969 when he resigned to work in private practice, with the Boston firm of Moulton, Looney, Mazzone, Falk, & Markham. Markham testified that Kennedy was sobbing and on the verge of becoming crazed. The next day Gargan and Markham joined Kennedy at his hotel where they had a "heated conversation" over the fact that Kennedy had not reported the accident.

After Kopechne's body was discovered, Kennedy dictated a statement to Markham which was then given to the police.

He was portrayed by Jim Gaffigan in the 2017 film Chappaquiddick.

Later life and death Markham died on July 13, 2019, aged 89. He was buried at Wyoming Cemetery in Melrose, Massachusetts.