Hynes (John B.) is born in the Roxbury.

The son of Irish immigrants, John Hynes is born on East Lenox Street, grows up in Dorchester, attends the Dwight, Alcott, and Hemenway schools, but is forced to go to work at age 14. He serves in the U.S. Army in World War I, returns to Boston, and goes to work for the city, initially in the Boston Health Department. Hynes graduates from Suffolk Law School, marries Marion Barry, and moves to 36 Laban Pratt Road and then to 31 Druid Street. So soft spoken that he is nicknamed “Whispering Johnny,” Hynes becomes City Clerk in 1945, serves as acting mayor in 1947,* and as mayor of Boston (1949-1960). He subsequently practices law and serve as Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks and Banking. Hynes dies on January 6, 1970, and is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery.