(1874-1958), politician. Curley, best known for the four terms he served as the mayor of Boston (1914-18, 1922-26, 1930-34, 1946-50), enjoyed particular popularity among Boston's Irish immigrants. He also served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1911-14, 1943-47) and as governor of Massachusetts (1935-37). While mayor, he spent five months in federal prison after a conviction for mail fraud; President Harry S. Truman pardoned him in 1950. Curley's colorful political career, which spanned half a century, provided the inspiration for the novel The Last Hurrah (1956) by Edwin O'Connor.
