Clarence A. Barnes

Who was Clarence A. Barnes?

Clarence Alfred Barnes was an American politician who served as Attorney General of Massachusetts from 1945–1949.

Barnes political career began in Mansfield, Massachusetts where he served as town counsel and moderator of the Town meeting. From 1912-1913, he served as a State Representative and he was as a delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1917-18.

Barnes was the Republican nominee for Attorney General in 1938 but lost to incumbent Paul A. Dever. He ran again in 1940, but lost the Republican nomination to Robert T. Bushnell. Barnes was a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council from 1943-1944. In 1944, he defeated former Lieutenant Governor Francis E. Kelly to become Attorney General. Barnes defeated Kelly again in 1946, but lost to him in 1948. He was a candidate for Governor in 1950, but lost the nomination to Arthur W. Coolidge. Barnes was also a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1940, 1944, 1948, and 1952.

Barnes died on May 26, 1970 at Martha's Vineyard Hospital in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts.

His son Clare Barnes, Jr. was an advertising executive who published a best-selling series of picture books.