Malcolm Nichols

Early life, education, and journalism

Nichols was born on May 8, 1876, in Portland, Maine, the son of Edwin T. Nichols and Helen J. G. (née Pingree) Nichols. He graduated from Harvard in 1899. After graduating from Harvard he moved to East Boston and later to Ward 10 in Boston, where he began politics by unsuccessfully running for the Boston Common Council as an opponent of Charles Hiller Innes's political machine. He later forged a friendship and alliance with Innes, the who was the local ward boss.

Nichols was the Massachusetts State House reporter for The Boston Traveler, covering both houses of the legislature, and later a political reporter for The Boston Post.

Politics

In addition to his newspaper work, Nichols was a lawyer and Collector of Internal Revenue. He was elected to the Boston Common Council, serving from 1905 to 1906. He was later elected a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives representing Ward 10 of Boston from 1907 to 1909. His district represented the Back Bay. In the state house, he was a member and clerk of the House Committee on Metropolitan affairs. He served as a member of the Massachusetts Senatein 1914, and again from 1917 to 1919.

After leaving the state senate, Nichols became chairman of the Schoolhouse Commission of Boston. He was later made chairman of the city's Transit Commission. He served as the head of the city's Rent Commission amid a housing shortage, and its and Fuel Commission amid a coal labor strike.

Nichols was elected Mayor of Boston in November 1925, serving from January 4, 1926, to January 6, 1930.

Nichols' mayoralty saw the creation of two dozen new schools, 197 new streets, and the start of construction on the Sumner Tunnel. He focused on increasing Boston's municipal services, providing $3 million in raises to city workers. In 1926 he raised taxes but every year after saw cuts. He relaxed zoning restrictions in his 1928 pyramidal building statute, allowing the construction of many skyscrapers, such as the United Shoe Machinery Corporation Building, and creating a boom in their construction. He established the Boston Port Authority and Boston Traffic Commission. He attempted to combat congestion in the city by proposing a $5 to $10 annual parking fee, claiming that "four out of every five cars" parking in downtown Boston were owned by nonresidents. He also attempted to lower telephone rates.

Personal life and death

On December 16, 1915, Nichols married Edith M. Williams (died 1925). He and his first wife had three children: sons Clark and Dexter, and daughter Marjorie. His first wife died in mid-1925, and in 1926, he married Edith's twin sister, Carrie Marjorie Williams. His son Clark acted as his best man and his son Dexter acted as the ring bearer.

By the time he was elected mayor, Nichols had moved to the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of the city.

Nichols was a Swedenborgian and of English ancestry. He was a member of the Freemasons, Shriners, and Elks. Nichols died on February 7, 1951, aged 74, in Jamaica Plain, from a myocardial infarction. He was buried in Forest Hills Cemetery.

References

Bibliography

• Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court by the Secretary of the Commonwealth (1918) p. 554.
• Who's who in State Politics, 1908 Practical Politics (1908) p. 265.

References

1. (June 1905). "''Harvard College Class of 1899 List of Addresses, Occupations, Marriages, Births, and Deaths''". Harvard College Class of 1899.
2. (January 4, 1926). "MAYOR NICHOLS INAUGURATED". [[The Boston Globe]].
3. (January 6, 1930). "CURLEY INAUGURATION WILL BE HELD TODAY". [[The Boston Globe]].
4. (1918). "Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court". Secretary of the Commonwealth.
5. "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Nichols".
6. "Nichols, Malcolm Edwin, 1876-1951 {{!}} ArchivesSpace Public Interface".
7. Gifford, Stephen Nye. (1904). "A Manual for the Use of the General Court". Massachusetts General Court.
8. (4 November 1925). "Republican Wins Boston Mayoralty – Nichols Has 22,000 Lead Over Nearest Democrat, One of Seven Rivals – Klan Beaten in Detroit – Mayor Smith, Whom It Fought, Has 16,692 Lead in Half the City". The New York Times.
9. "Collection: Mayor Malcolm E. Nichols collection {{!}} ArchivesSpace Public Interface".
10. Marden. (1908). "''A Manual for the Use of the General Court''". Massachusetts General Court.
11. (November 4, 1925). "Boston Elects Republican Mayor". Salt Lake Telegram.
12. (23 November 1926). "Son, 9, Best Man at Wedding Of Mayor Nichols of Boston". [[The New York Times]].
13. {{Citation. Time]]. (6 December 1926)
14. (November 4, 1925). "Nichols Has Served In City Hall Before; Reporter and Department Head In Others Years–Never Made Enemy in His Political Tilts". The Boston Globe.
15. (November 4, 1925). "Malcolm E. Nichols and His Children". The Boston Globe.
16. (27 November 1926). "BOSTON'S MAYOR WED; 9-YEAR SON BEST MAN; Mr. Nichols's Bride Twin Sister of Late Wife-Church Crowded at Ceremony". The New York Times.
17. {{Citation. (27 November 1926)