Edward Lawrence Logan

Edward Lawrence Logan
Logan, c. 1916
Personal details
Born	(1875-01-20)January 20, 1875 South Boston
Died	July 6, 1939(1939-07-06) (aged 64) Boston
Profession	Soldier Officer Politician
Military service
Years of service	1897–1919
Rank	Major General

Edward Lawrence Logan (1875–1939) was an American lawyer, judge, military officer, and politician from Boston, Massachusetts. Rising to the rank of Major General and given command of the 26th Infantry Division of the United States Army, Logan was instrumental in the post-World War I reorganization of that unit. Logan also won election to the Massachusetts state legislature and to the Boston City Council and served as head of the American Legion in his state.

General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport, located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, is named after him.

Biography

Early years

Edward Lawrence Logan was born January 20, 1875 in South Boston, Massachusetts to Lawrence J. Logan and his wife, Catherine M. O'Conner Logan, a military family.

He attended Boston Latin School before enrolling at Harvard College.

Political career

In 1897, still in school, Logan enlisted in the 9th Infantry Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia as a sergeant major, serving in that unit for the duration of the Spanish–American War. He returned in the fall of 1898 and enrolled at Harvard Law School, and while still a student there was elected one of 75 members of the Boston Common Council, on which he served from 1899 to 1900.

Upon his graduation in 1900, Logan ran for election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, winning a seat on that body and serving from 1901 to 1902. He retired from office at the end of his term and entered into legal practice in Boston, where he would remain for more than a decade.

Logan remained politically inclined and in November 1905 he was elected as a Democratic State Senator, representing a district in South Boston. He served in the State Senate during 1906, while unsuccessfully running in the Democratic primary election for United States Congress in the fall of that same year.

The following year, 1907, Logan was tapped as an associate justice of the municipal court for the South Boston district by Republican Governor Curtis Guild, Jr.

Military career

Although Logan withdrew from the Massachusetts state militia in 1899, he rejoined in 1901, appointed to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in the 9th Infantry Regiment. He served throughout the decade in that unit and won several promotions, ending in the rank of Captain. In February 1911 he was promoted to Major and in May 1912 to Colonel of the Massachusetts 9th Regiment.

In March 1917, Logan's unit was mobilized to guard installations in anticipation of the US declaration of war on Germany. After several months of guard duty, the 9th was redesignated as the 101st Infantry Regiment and assigned to the 26th Infantry Division, organized from the National Guards of the New England states. Logan accompanied his troops to France in command of the 101st.

In April 1919, the regiment was relieved of active duty, and Logan oversaw its reorganization into the Massachusetts National Guard. In January 1921 Logan was promoted to brigadier general and took command of the 1st Infantry Brigade. In March 1923 he was promoted to major general and given command of the 26th Division. As its first post-war commander, General Logan was responsible for reorganizing and training the division as a completely Massachusetts unit.

Post war life

Throughout the remainder of his life, Logan achieved prominence as an advocate for veterans as the state commander of the American Legion and president of the National Guard Association of the United States. He retired from the Guard in 1938.

Death and legacy

Edward Lawrence Logan died in Boston on July 6, 1939. He was 64 years old at the time of his death.

A statue of General Logan by Joseph Coletti was unveiled at the entrance to the former Boston Airport when it was officially renamed the General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport in a public ceremony in 1956. It has been moved several times to accommodate the airport's growth. Although Logan was not an aviator, he did lobby intensely for veteran benefits to include the high risk group of pilots.

Further reading

• Matt Viser and Martin Finucane, "New Airport Name Sought to Honor Kennedy," Boston Globe, Sept. 3, 2009.

External links

• Leonid Kondratiuk, "About Logan: Major General Edward L. Logan," Logan Airport website, www.massport.com/