Skip to main content

Bulger, William M.

 Person

Biographical Note

William M. Bulger was born on February 2, 1934 in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He married Mary Foley in 1960 and they had nine children. Bulger was first elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1960. In 1970 he was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate, serving as Senate president from 1978 until 1996, the longest tenure in Massachusetts history. Bulger published a political memoir, While the music lasts: My life in politics in 1996. In 1996 Bulger was appointed president of the University of Massachusetts where he increased private support, alumni activity, research funding, and the academic scores of first year students. Bulger's brother "Whitey" was a notorious criminal and murderer who was a fugitive from 1995 until 2011. Bulger lives in South Boston, Massachusetts.

Social Networks and Archival Context (SNAC) Identifier

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

William M. Bulger papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS-2013-028
Abstract

Papers that document the professional and personal life of twentieth-century American politician and lawyer William M. Bulger in the Massachusetts legislature and as University of Massachusetts president. Materials include correspondence, clippings, photographs, legislative material, speeches and remarks, audio and video recordings, and ephemera.

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open for research.

Audio and video recordings have been digitally copied; all original media was retained, but may not be played due to format. Digital use copies can only be accessed in the Burns Library Reading Room.

Dates: 1940 - 2013