Arthur William Coolidge was a Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 who served multiple positions within the state government.

Born in Cumberland County, Maine

Cumberland County, Maine

Cumberland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 281,674. Its county seat is Portland, and is the most populous of the sixteen Maine counties, as well as the most affluent. Cumberland County has the deepest and second largest body of water in the...

, Coolidge worked as a lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 before becoming a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives

Massachusetts House of Representatives

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...

 (1937 - 1940) and of the Massachusetts State Senate (1941 - 1946). From 1947 to 1949 he was the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts

Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts

The Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts...

. He was the Republican nominee for Governor

Governor of Massachusetts

The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...

 in 1950

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1950

The 1950 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1950. Democratic incumbent Paul A. Dever defeated Republican Arthur W. Coolidge, Socialist Labor candidate Horace Hillis, and Prohibition candidate Mark R. Shaw....

.

He was a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 and a Unitarian

Unitarianism

Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....

, a Freemason, serving as Grand Master of Masons (1943–1944) and a member of the American Bar Association

American Bar Association

The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...

 and Theta Delta Chi

Theta Delta Chi

Theta Delta Chi is a social fraternity that was founded in 1847 at Union College. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are Theta Delt, Thete, TDX, and TDC. Theta Delta Chi brothers refer to their local organization as Charges rather...

. He had one daughter, Dorothy Coolidge Cox and two sons: Robert Tilton Coolidge (1915–1955) and Arthur William Coolidge II . A fifth 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

Martha Coolidge

Martha Coolidge is an American film director and former President of the Directors Guild of America. -Career:Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Ms. Coolidge first made her reputation by directing many award winning documentaries in New York before moving out to Hollywood in 1976. She spent several...

.

Coolidge is buried in Forest Glen Cemetery, Reading, Massachusetts

Reading, Massachusetts

Reading is an affluent town situated in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, some north of central Boston. The population was 24,747 at the 2010 census.-Settlement and Independence:...

. The Arthur W. Coolidge Middle School, formerly Junior High School, was named in his honor.