Benjamin Bentley Blackburn

Republican Representative of Georgia's 4th district

  • Representative

    Georgia, district 4

    January 3, 1973 - January 3, 1975

4

Congresses Served

4

House Terms

February 14, 1927 (97 years old)

Birthday

December 3, 2024

Death

  • Served as a U.S. Representative from 1967 to 1975
  • Born and raised in Atlanta, attended public schools there
  • Graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1947 and from Emory University School of Law in 1954
  • Served in the United States Navy during World War II (1944-1946) and the Korean War (1950-1952), retired as a lieutenant commander in the United States Naval Reserve
  • Worked in the State attorney general’s office from 1955 to 1957
  • Admitted to the bar in 1954 and commenced private practice in Atlanta
  • Elected to Congress in 1966 as a Republican, narrowly defeating incumbent James MacKay
  • Supported fellow Republican Bo Callaway in the 1966 gubernatorial race
  • Described Lester Maddox as a “far better governor than his critics will ever admit” after leaving office
  • Served four terms in Congress but was unsuccessful in a campaign for reelection in 1974
  • Nominated by President Gerald Ford to serve on the Federal Home Loan Bank Board in 1975, but the nomination was rejected by the Senate Banking Committee
  • Served as president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation from 1976 until 1985
  • Ran for governor of Georgia in 1982 but was defeated in the Republican primary
  • Married to Mary A. Pandora Blackburn from 1952 until her death in 2018, with whom he had four children
  • Resided in Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia