Endicott Peabody - Definition and Overview

Endicott Peabody (February 15, 1920–December 1, 1997) was a Governor of Massachusetts whose political failures outnumbered his successes.

Peabody was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, served in the United States Navy during World War II, and received a BA and a law degree from Harvard University. He ran for political office unsuccessfully in Massachusetts several times. In 1962 he was elected Governor and served until 1965. In 1966 he ran for a seat in the United States Senate and was defeated by Edward Brooke. In 1983, he moved to Hollis, New Hampshire, where he ran, again unsuccessfully, for local and statewide political office several times. he also undertook an extremely quixotic campaign for the Vice-Presidency on the Democratic ticket in 1992. Nicknamed "Chub," Peabody, an engaging politician, struggled to transcend his preppy-sounding name and white Anglo-Saxon ethnicity at a time when Irish-American politicians like the Kennedy family and their Italian-American counterparts such as John Volpe and Foster Furcolo were appealing to large Roman Catholic constituencies. Peabody died in 1997 and is buried in Groton, Massachusetts.