A native of
Boston and of
Italian descent, Umana graduated from
East Boston High School in 1932, the same year as
Adio diBiccari. Umana then went to
Harvard University and graduated from both their
College in 1936 and
Law School in 1941. He practiced
law in
Boston, and also joined the
United States Army Air Forces during
World War II. Umana began his political career by serving in the
Massachusetts House of Representatives as a
Democrat from 1949 to 1952. He was then elected to the
Massachusetts Senate for the
2nd Suffolk District from 1953 to 1958, and then from 1961 to 1973, which included tenures as the
Majority Whip and
Majority Leader. Umana as succeeded by
Michael LoPresti Jr. In 1964, Umana unsuccessfully ran in the
1964 Massachusetts gubernatorial election. Umana returned to law in 1973 by becoming a judge for the
Boston Municipal Court until retirement in 1991. The Mario Umana Academy in
East Boston was named in his honor. Umana died from
pneumonia at
Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in 2005. ==Personal life==