American politician

Sanford Bates (July 17, 1884 in Boston, M*achusetts – September 8, 1972) was an American politician and public administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (1930–1937), a subdivision of the United States Department of Justice.

Contents

• 1 Education
• 2 Early career
• 3 Political career
• 4 Legislative career
• 5 1917 M*achusetts Cons*utional Convention
• 6 Corrections career
• 7 See also
• 8 References

Education

Bates attended Boston public schools graduating from English High School, and from the Y.M.C.A. Evening Law School, now Northeastern University.

Early career

Before he became an attorney, Bates worked as a clerk in the Boston Street Department.

Political career

Early in his career Bates was active in the local Republican party, he was a member of the Lincoln club, the Republican club of Boston's Ward 24, serving as a member of the Ward 24 Republican Committee in 1910-1911.

Legislative career

Bates served in both houses of the M*achusetts General Court (1912-1917). From 1912 to 1914 Bates represented the 24th Suffolk District in the M*achusetts House of Representatives. From

1917 M*achusetts Cons*utional Convention

In 1916, the M*achusetts legislature and electorate approved a calling of a Cons*utional Convention. In May 1917, Bates was elected to serve as a member of the M*achusetts Cons*utional Convention of 1917, representing the 19th Suffolk District. Bates was a member of the Convention's Committee on Liquor Traffic.

Corrections career

On November 1, 1918 Bates was appointed as the Commissioner of Penal Ins*utions in Boston (1917-1919), then appointed as Commissioner of the M*achusetts Department of Corrections in 1919 by then-Governor Calvin Coolidge. Bates served there until 1929 when he became the first Superintendent of Prisons for the newly created Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice, through January 31, 1937. From 1945 until his semi-retirement in 1954 he headed yet another prison system, the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

Among many other *les, positions and honors, Bates was the president of the American Prison *ociation in 1926.

See also

• 1915 M*achusetts legislature
• 1916 M*achusetts legislature

References