James A. Volpe was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts, on December 8, 1908, and served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He was governor of Massachusetts (1961-1963, 1965-1969); in 1968, he ran for the Republican nomination for President.

Volpe served in the Nixon cabinet as secretary of transportation (1969-1973), and he would later become U.S. ambassador to Italy (1973-1977). He died on September 11, 1994.