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Benjamin B. Blackburn

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Benjamin B. Blackburn
Blackburn in 1950
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 4th district
In office
January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1975
Preceded byJames MacKay
Succeeded byElliott H. Levitas
Personal details
Born
Benjamin Bentley Blackburn

(1927-02-14)February 14, 1927
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
DiedDecember 3, 2024(2024-12-03) (aged 97)
Jasper, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Mary Antonia Pandora
​
​
(m. 1952; died 2018)​
Children4
EducationUniversity of North Carolina (BA)
Emory University (LLB)[1]
OccupationLawyer
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy; United States Naval Reserve
RankLieutenant commander
Battles/warsWorld War II; Korean War

Benjamin Bentley Blackburn III (February 14, 1927 – December 3, 2024) was an American politician from Georgia. A member of the Republican Party, he served as member of the United States House of Representatives for four terms from 1967 to 1975. After he left the U.S. House of Representatives, his nomination to the Federal Home Loan Bank Board was rejected by the U.S. Senate. In the late 1970s and the early 1980s, he was the president of Southeastern Legal Foundation.

Early life and career

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Born in Atlanta on February 14, 1927 to Benjamin Bentley Blackburn Jr. and Sarah (Medlock) Blackburn, he attended public school there and graduated in 1947 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and in 1954 from the Emory University School of Law in Atlanta. During World War II, Blackburn served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946 and again during the Korean War from 1950 to 1952. He was retired as a lieutenant commander in the United States Navy Reserve. He served in the State attorney general's office from 1955 to 1957. He was admitted to the bar in 1954 and commenced private practice in Atlanta after service with the attorney general.

In 1966, Blackburn was elected to the 90th United States Congress, having narrowly defeated freshman incumbent James MacKay by 360 votes: 55,249 (50.2 percent) to 54,889 (49.8 percent).[2] In that same election fellow Republican Bo Callaway challenged the Democrat Lester Maddox, a strong segregationist from Atlanta, in the 1966 gubernatorial race. Though Callaway led Maddox by some three thousand votes, he did not have the required majority; under the Georgia Constitution, the state legislature broke the impasse by electing Maddox. Blackburn supported Callaway, who as a congressman had sought to curb the high costs of federal social programs.[3] Years later, Blackburn described Maddox as a "far better governor than his critics will ever admit." Then out of office himself, Blackburn noted that no claim of corruption arose against Maddox, whose administration was characterized by economic development and the appointment of African Americans to state executive positions.[4] Blackburn was reelected to Congress in the three succeeding terms but was unsuccessful in a campaign for reelection in 1974.

In 1975, President Gerald Ford nominated him to serve as a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. On November 12, his nomination was rejected by the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in an 8–5 vote.[5] Blackburn served as president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation from 1976 to 1985. In 1982, he ran for Governor of Georgia, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Georgia State Senate member Bob Bell, 36,347 (59.2 percent) to 25,063 (40.8 percent).[6] Bell then lost in the general election to the Democrat Joe Frank Harris.

Personal life and death

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Blackburn married Mary Antonia Pandora, a native of California on February 23, 1952 in San Diego and they had four children. Mary died on June 10, 2018. Blackburn died on December 3, 2024 in Jasper, Georgia, aged 97.[7]

Electoral history

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Georgia's 4th congressional district:[8][9][10][11][12]

Year Republican Votes % Democratic Votes %
1966 √ Benjamin B. Blackburn 55,249 50.2% James MacKay 54,889 49.8%
1968 √ Benjamin B. Blackburn 78,753 57.5% James MacKay 58,154 42.5%
1970 √ Benjamin B. Blackburn 85,848 65.2% Franklin Shumake 45,908 34.8%
1972 √ Benjamin B. Blackburn 103,155 75.9% F. Odell Welborn 32,731 24.1%
1974 Benjamin B. Blackburn 49,922 44.9% √ Elliott H. Levitas 61,211 55.1%

References

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  1. ^ Nomination of Benjamin B. Blackburn: Hearings Before the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, United States Senate, Ninety-fourth Congress, First Session on the Nomination of Benjamin B. Blackburn to be a Member of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, November 10 and 11, 1975
  2. ^ Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections, p. 1277
  3. ^ Billy Hathorn, "the Frustration of Opportunity: Georgia Republicans and the Election of 1966", Atlanta History: A Journal of Georgia and the South, XXXI (Winter 1987-1988), p. 41
  4. ^ Atlanta History, p. 48
  5. ^ Senate Panel, 8-5, Rejects Ford Choice for Bank Post
  6. ^ Congressional Quarterly's Guide, p. 1677
  7. ^ "Benjamin Bentley Blackburn". Legacy.com. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  8. ^ Fortson, Ben (1966). "Official state of Georgia tabulation by counties for U.S. Senator, U.S. Representatives, Governor, Lt. Governor, constitutional officers, state officers and constitutional amendments, General Election November 8, 1966" (PDF). Digital Library of Georgia. p. 13. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  9. ^ Fortson, Ben (1968). "Official state of Georgia tabulation by counties for Presidential Electors, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representatives, state officers and constitutional amendments, General Election November 5, 1968" (PDF). Digital Library of Georgia. p. 13. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  10. ^ Fortson, Ben (1970). "Official state of Georgia tabulation by counties for U.S. Representatives, Governor, Lt. Governor, constitutional officers, state officers and constitutional amendments, General Election November 3, 1970" (PDF). Digital Library of Georgia. p. 8. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  11. ^ Fortson, Ben (1972). "Official state of Georgia tabulation by counties for Presidential Electors, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representatives, state officers and constitutional amendments, General Election November 7, 1972" (PDF). Digital Library of Georgia. p. 11. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  12. ^ Fortson, Ben (1974). "Official State of Georgia tabulation by counties for U.S. Senator, U.S. Representatives, Governor, Lt. Governor, constitutional officers, state officers and constitutional amendments, General Election November 5, 1974" (PDF). Digital Library of Georgia. p. 8. Retrieved January 16, 2024.

Sources

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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 4th congressional district
January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1975 		Succeeded by

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

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