Jay R. Benton

Jay Rogers Benton
26th Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
In office
1923–1927
GovernorChanning H. Cox
Alvan T. Fuller
Preceded byJ. Weston Allen
Succeeded byArthur K. Reading
Member of the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
28th Middlesex District
In office
1917[1]–1918
Personal details
BornOctober 18, 1885[2]
Somerville, Massachusetts[2]
DiedNovember 4, 1953(1953-11-04) (aged 68)[3]
Belmont, Massachusetts[3]
Political partyRepublican
SpouseFrances Hill (1894-1982)
ResidenceBelmont, Massachusetts[4]
Alma materPhillips Exeter Academy[1]
Harvard University
Boston University Law School[4]
ProfessionLawyer, Publisher, Businessman

Jay Rogers Benton[4][5] (October 18, 1885 – November 4, 1953) was an American lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as Massachusetts Attorney General from 1923 to 1927. He was born in Somerville in 1885.[2]

The son of Republican politician Everett Chamberlin Benton, Benton worked as a banker, newspaper publisher, and lawyer before pursuing a career in politics.[3] Benton was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1917, but resigned the following year to become Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts.[2] When Attorney General J. Weston Allen decided not to run for reelection in 1922, Benton was elected to succeed him.

After leaving office, Benton joined the firm of Sherburne, Powers & Needham.[6] From 1937 until his death in 1953, Benton was president of the Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company.[3] He died in Belmont, Massachusetts in 1953.[3]

  1. ^ a b Who's Who in State Politics, 1918, Boston, MA: Practical Politics, 1918, p. 124
  2. ^ a b c d Richard T. Howard (1923). Public Officials of Massachusetts 1923–1924. The Boston Review (Richard T. Howard). p. 28.
  3. ^ a b c d e The New York Times (November 4, 1953). "JAY BENTON HEADED. BOSTON MUTUAL LIFE". New York Times. p. 33.
  4. ^ a b c "Benton, Jay Rogers (b. 1885)". Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  5. ^ Benton, Nicholas (1964), A Benton Heritage : brief histories of some Bentons and other connecting family lines in New England, p. 80
  6. ^ "Ex-Atty Gen Benton Retires From State Work". The Boston Globe. January 20, 1927.