Benjamin A. Smith II

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Benjamin Atwood Smith II
United States Senator from Massachusetts
In office December 27, 1960 – November 6, 1962
Preceded by	John F. Kennedy
Succeeded by	Ted Kennedy
Born	March 16, 1916(1916-03-16) Gloucester, Massachusetts
Died	September 6, 1991 (aged 75)
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Harvard University
Military service
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1941-1945
Battles/wars	World War II

Benjamin Atwood Smith II (March 16, 1916 – September 6, 1991) was briefly a United States Senator from the U.S. State of Massachusetts.

Smith was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts and graduated from Governor Dummer Academy and Harvard University, at the latter of which he was a roommate of John F. Kennedy. He served in the United States Navy in the Pacific during World War II. He served as Mayor of Gloucester from 1954 to 1955.

John F. Kennedy resigned from the Senate on December 22, 1960, after being elected President of the United States. Kennedy, who had been reelected to a second Senate term of six years in 1958, advised Gov. Foster Furcolo of Massachusetts to appoint Smith to fill the vacated seat "in the interest of promoting party unity." Critics said Smith was intended all along to simply be a "seat-warmer" until the President-elect's brother, Ted Kennedy, turned thirty (the minimum age provided by the U.S. Constitution for eligibility to serve in the Senate). Smith served as Senator until a special election was held in November 1962, when he was indeed succeeded by Ted Kennedy, who served the remainder of the term. Kennedy has been reelected ever since.

[edit] External links

• Benjamin A. Smith II at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2008-01-23
• Benjamin A. Smith II at Find a Grave Retrieved on 2008-01-23

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