Edward J. Donovan

Edward Joseph Donovan (1864–1908) was an American politician who served as Boston city clerk and Collector of Internal Revenue for Massachusetts.

He worked for Brown, Durrell & Co., a dry goods merchant, for many years, starting as an entry clerk and finishing as an accountant.

In 1885, Donovan was a founding member of The Hendricks Club and served as its first president, although Lomasney held the actual power.

[5] In 1892 he was appointed to the Boston Health Board by Mayor Nathan Matthews Jr.[6] On January 29, 1894, President Grover Cleveland nominated Donovan for the position of Collector of Internal Revenue for the district of Massachusetts.

[7] Donovan was an opponent of civil service reform, stating that it caused an "imminent danger" of creating "a great officeholding class that will take on the character of an arrogant bureaucracy".

[9] After leaving office, Donovan managed Star Brewery for a short time before going into the real estate and insurance business.

[2] Donovan was seen as the "machine candidate" as he had the support of Boston Democratic city committee president W. T. A. Fitzgerald and the majority of ward chairmen.

[2] The New York Times described the race between Donovan and Fitzgerald as "the most bitter ever conducted in Boston" and described party leaders as "almost evenly divided in their preferences".