James Michael “Jim” Curley

Directory: Massachusetts Political Directory

James Michael Curley, Head and Shoulders Portrait

Directory Overview

  • Name: James Michael “Jim” Curley 26
  • Directory Status: Former Elected Official
  • Jurisdictions: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Elected Public Offices

Member, Boston Common Council

City Archives Year Range: 1900–1901 1

Member, Massachusetts House of Representatives

City Archives Year Range: 1902–1903 1

Member, Boston Board of Aldermen

City Archives Year Range: 1904–1909 1, 2, 3

Member, Boston City Council

Documented Council Years: 1910–1911 4, 1

United States Representative from Massachusetts, 10th and 12th Districts

Service: March 4th, 1911–February 4th, 1914 5, 3

Mayor of Boston

Term Calendar: February 1914–February 1918 6, 7, 2

Mayor of Boston

Term Calendar: February 1922–January 1926 8, 9, 2, 10

Mayor of Boston

Term Calendar: January 1930–January 1934 11, 12, 10

Governor of Massachusetts

Service: January 3rd, 1935–January 7th, 1937 13, 14

United States Representative from Massachusetts, 11th District

Service: January 3rd, 1943–January 3rd, 1947 5, 15, 16

Mayor of Boston

Term Calendar: January 1946–January 1950 17, 18, 19, 10, 20

Related Office Page: Mayor of Boston

Official Resources

Sources and Verification

Last Reviewed: October 19th, 2026

Image Credit: Bain News Service; Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-62918; 1917 (Catalog Year); Exact Capture Date Not Verified

Image Context: Bain News Service photographed Jim Curley in this portrait. The Library of Congress catalog year is 1917; the exact capture date remains unverified.

Image Source

  • Member, Boston Common Council: The House biography instead lists 1900–1902. These source summaries do not establish exact service days.
  • Member, Massachusetts House of Representatives: The House biography instead lists 1902–1904; exact service endpoints remain unresolved.
  • Member, Boston Board of Aldermen: The City Archives lists 1904–1909. The old Board of Aldermen was abolished in February 1910 under the 1909 charter. The 1913 Congressional Directory’s 1904–1911 summary overlaps the new City Council period; the exact end of Jim Curley’s personal aldermanic service remains unverified.
  • Member, Boston City Council: The city’s historical membership roster lists Jim Curley in 1910 and 1911, supplying years rather than a final service day; the House biography summarizes 1910–1912.
  • United States Representative from Massachusetts, 10th and 12th Districts: The 1913 Congressional Directory distinguishes the 10th District in the 62nd Congress and the 12th in the 63rd. The end date records his resignation.
  • Mayor of Boston: The charter’s scheduled boundaries are February 2nd, 1914 and February 4th, 1918. The display uses month precision; separate oath and qualification records were not located.
  • Mayor of Boston: The original charter scheduled the beginning on February 6th, 1922. The 1924 amendment moved the succeeding mayoral term to January 4th, 1926. Separate personal oath and departure records were not located.
  • Mayor of Boston: The amended charter scheduled these term boundaries on January 6th, 1930 and January 1st, 1934. Separate personal oath and departure records were not located.
  • Governor of Massachusetts: The House Journal directly records Curley’s oath and qualification as Governor on January 3rd, 1935. The City Council biography supplies the January 7th, 1937 departure date. The journal’s approximate arrival time is not an oath time.
  • United States Representative from Massachusetts, 11th District: The original Congressional Directories for both the 78th and 79th Congresses identify Jim Curley in the 11th District during his second, nonconsecutive period of House service.
  • Mayor of Boston: The institutional exhibit documents Jim Curley’s oath on January 7th, 1946. John B. Hynes’s inaugural program is dated January 2nd, 1950, and the 1950 city roster lists Hynes as mayor. The ending is displayed at month precision.

1. Guide to the Mayor James M. Curley Collection 0237.001

Boston City Archives — PDF pp. 3-4 (Printed Pages 3-4), Biographical Note and Political Timeline

2. Acts and Resolves, 1909, Chapter 486 — Boston City Charter

Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth; State Library of Massachusetts Digital Session Laws — Printed pp. 528–529, §§ 37 and 45; Reprinted in Boston Municipal Registers 1914, 1918, and 1922

3. Congressional Directory, December 1st, 1913, Massachusetts

U.S. Congress, Congressional Directory (GovInfo Official Publication) — Massachusetts, pp. 47-48; Tenth and Twelfth Districts and Curley Biography

4. Boston City Council Members, 1910–2026

City of Boston, Archives and Records Management — PDF Page 2, Alphabetical Roster, Curley, James M.

5. Curley, James Michael

U.S. House of Representatives, History, Art & Archives — Concise Biography

6. Municipal Register for 1914

City of Boston — Printed p. 1, City Government / Government of the City of Boston, 1914

7. Municipal Register for 1918

City of Boston — Printed p. 1, City Government / Government of the City of Boston, 1918

8. Municipal Register for 1922

City of Boston — Printed p. 3, City Government / Government of the City of Boston, 1922

9. Municipal Register for 1926

City of Boston — Printed p. 11, City Government / Government of the City of Boston, 1926; Charter Amendment, Acts 1924, Ch. 479, § 6, Printed Charter Section 45

10. Municipal Register for 1926 — Boston Charter Amendment, Acts of 1924, Chapter 479

City of Boston; Incorporated Session Law Text in the Official Municipal Register — Acts of 1924, Chapter 479, §§ 1 and 6; Reprinted Charter Section 45

11. Municipal Register for 1930

City of Boston — Printed p. 11, City Government / Government of the City of Boston, 1930; Charter Amendment, Acts 1924, Ch. 479, § 6, Printed Charter Section 45

12. Municipal Register for 1934

City of Boston — Printed p. 11, City Government / Government of the City of Boston, 1934; Charter Section 45

13. Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1935

Massachusetts General Court, House of Representatives; State Library of Massachusetts — January Proceedings, Printed pp. 31–33, January 3rd, 1935: Qualification of Governor, Lieutenant-Governor and Councillors

14. James Michael Curley

City of Boston, City Council — Political Career Paragraphs and Historical Photograph Caption

15. Congressional Directory, 78th Congress, Second Session, December 21st, 1943

United States Congress, Joint Committee on Printing; Government Printing Office — Massachusetts — Eleventh District, James M. Curley; State Delegations — Massachusetts

16. Congressional Directory, 79th Congress, First Session, August 14th, 1945

United States Congress, Joint Committee on Printing; Government Printing Office — Massachusetts — Eleventh District, James M. Curley

17. Municipal Register for 1946

City of Boston — Printed p. 11, City Government / Government of the City of Boston, 1946

18. Municipal Register for 1949

City of Boston — Printed p. 11, City Government / Government of the City of Boston, 1949

19. Municipal Register for 1950

City of Boston — Printed p. 11, City Government / Government of the City of Boston, 1950

20. Symphony Hall for Everyone: Celebrating 125 Years of Cultural and Civic Uses

Boston Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Hall Online Exhibits — Political Events and Themes; Artifact Captions for the 1950 Hynes Inauguration and 1946 Curley Inauguration

21. A Quick Look at Boston's History

City of Boston Archives and Records Management Division — History of the City Council

22. House of Representatives

Massachusetts General Court — About the House of Representatives

23. Directory of Representatives

U.S. House of Representatives — Opening Description and Member Directory

24. Massachusetts Governor’s Council

Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Mass.gov — Official Council Overview; Constitutional Relationship Is Supported by the Separately Cited Massachusetts Constitution

25. Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts — Part II, Chapter I, Section I, Article I; Original Provisions of Chapter II Concerning Governor and Lieutenant Governor

26. James Michael Curley; A Lasting Hurrah

Jamaica Plain Historical Society — Familiar-Name References and First-Person Recollections