Thomas Gardiner Corcoran,  formerly of Pawtucket, was a brilliant attorney nicknamed "Tommy the Cork", and a close companion to Oliver Wendell Holmes. He born in Pawtucket and educated at Brown (where he was class valedictorian). He later became one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s most trusted advisors, and a high level official for the powerful Reconstruction Finance Corporation. He was very influential during Roosevelt’s New Deal years, and was a major White House Lobbyist and creator of significant legislation.