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{{short description|American politician}}
{{Other uses|Benjamin Fortson (disambiguation){{!}}Benjamin Fortson}}

{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Benjamin Wynn Fortson Jr.
| image = Ben W. Fortson Jr circa 1973 (3x4).jpg
| caption = Official portrait, circa 1970s
|order = 21st
| name = Benjamin Wynn Fortson Jr.
⚫
|office = Secretary of State of Georgia
|term_start = 1946
| order = 21st
⚫
| office = Secretary of State of Georgia
⚫
|term_end = 1979
| term_start = 1946
⚫
|predecessor = [[John Bryan Wilson]]
⚫
| term_end = May 19, 1979
⚫
|successor = [[David Poythress]]
| governor = [[Ellis Arnall]]<br>[[Eugene Talmadge]]<br>[[Melvin E. Thompson]]<br>[[Herman Talmadge]]<br>[[Marvin Griffin]]<br>[[Ernest Vandiver]]<br>[[Carl Sanders]]<br>[[Lester Maddox]]<br>[[Jimmy Carter]]<br>[[George Busbee]]
⚫
|birth_date = {{birth date|1904|12|19}}
⚫
| predecessor = [[John Bryan Wilson]]
⚫
|birth_place = [[Wilkes County, Georgia|Wilkes County]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
⚫
| successor = [[David Poythress]]
⚫
|death_date = {{death date and age|1979|5|19|1904|12|19}}
⚫
| birth_date = {{birth date|1904|12|19}}
⚫
|death_place = [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
⚫
| birth_place = [[Wilkes County, Georgia|Wilkes County]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], U.S.
⚫
|resting_place = Resthaven Cemetery [[Washington, Georgia]]
⚫
| death_date = {{death date and age|1979|5|19|1904|12|19}}
⚫
|party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
⚫
| death_place = [[Atlanta]], Georgia, U.S.
|spouse = Mary Cade (d. 10/21/1966)
⚫
| resting_place = Resthaven Cemetery, [[Wilkes County, Georgia]]
⚫
|children = Ann McNeill Fortson Mandus (d. 06/21/2013)
⚫
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
⚫
|alma_mater = [[Emory University]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Mary Cade||October 21, 1966|end=d.}}
⚫
| children = Ann McNeill Fortson Mandus
⚫
| alma_mater = [[Emory University]]
| signature = BenFortsonSignature.png
}}
}}
'''Benjamin Wynn Fortson Jr.''' (December 19, 1904 - May 19, 1979) was a [[Secretary of State of Georgia]]. After being selected by [[Ellis Arnall]], the governor in 1946, Fortson kept his title as secretary until 1979, making him the longest-running secretary in Georgia history.
'''Benjamin Wynn Fortson Jr.''' (December 19, 1904 – May 19, 1979) was a [[Secretary of State of Georgia]]. After being selected by [[Ellis Arnall]], the governor in 1946, Fortson kept his title as secretary until 1979, making him the longest-running secretary in Georgia history.


==Background==
==Background==
Benjamin Wynn Fortson Jr. was born in 1904 in [[Wilkes County, Georgia]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_joOAQAAMAAJ&q=%22fortson,+benjamin%22+1904&dq=%22fortson,+benjamin%22+1904&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0MXxUOLIEa3SiAKZjICQDQ&ved=0CEsQ6AEwBg |title=Who was who in America with world notables|via=[[Google Books]]|date= |accessdate=2013-03-12}}</ref> At 24, he was in a car accident that permanently paralyzed him from the waist down. Fortson served two terms in the [[Georgia House of Representatives]]. He was elected to the [[Georgia Senate]] in 1938 and served until he was appointed secretary of state by Governor [[Ellis Arnall]] in February 1946 to fill the unexpired term of [[John B. Wilson]]. Fortson was elected in the next election and every four years thereafter.<ref name="nge"/>
Benjamin Wynn Fortson Jr. was born in 1904 in [[Wilkes County, Georgia]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_joOAQAAMAAJ&q=%22fortson,+benjamin%22+1904 |title=Who was who in America with world notables|year=1943|isbn=9780837902104|via=[[Google Books]]|access-date=2013-03-12}}</ref> At 24, he was in a car accident that permanently paralyzed him from the waist down. Fortson served two terms in the [[Georgia House of Representatives]]. He was elected to the [[Georgia Senate]] in 1938 and served until he was appointed secretary of state by Governor [[Ellis Arnall]] in February 1946 to fill the unexpired term of [[John B. Wilson]]. Fortson was elected in the next election and every four years thereafter.<ref name="nge"/>


He was serving his ninth term at the time of his death on May 19, 1979, in [[Atlanta, Georgia]]. After funeral services in the rotunda of the state Capitol, he was buried in Wilkes County in Resthaven Cemetery.<ref name="nge">{{cite web|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1383 |title=New Georgia Encyclopedia: Ben Fortson (1904-1979) |publisher=Georgiaencyclopedia.org |date= |accessdate=2013-03-12}}</ref>
He died on May 19, 1979, at the age of 74 at his home in [[Atlanta]] ([[DeKalb County, Georgia|DeKalb County]]) from [[heart failure]]. He was serving his ninth term as the [[Georgia Secretary of State]] when he died. After funeral services in the rotunda of the state Capitol, he was buried at Resthaven Cemetery in [[Wilkes County, Georgia]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Ronald |date=1979-05-21 |title=Ben Fortson Jr. Is Dead at 74; Ex‐Secretary of State in Georgia |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/21/archives/ben-fortson-jr-is-dead-at-74-exsecretary-of-state-in-georgia.html |access-date=2024-07-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="nge">{{cite web|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1383 |title=New Georgia Encyclopedia: Ben Fortson (1904-1979) |publisher=Georgiaencyclopedia.org |access-date=2013-03-12}}</ref>


==Secretary of State==
==Secretary of State==
[[File:Georgia Flags by Ben Fortson.jpg|right|thumb|''Georgia Flags'' by Fortson, 1963]]
[[File:Georgia Flags by Ben Fortson.jpg|right|thumb|''Georgia Flags'' by Fortson, 1963]]
In 1946, Fortson was appointed secretary of state. While in office, he was assigned many different jobs that were not originally responsibilities of the office. Fortson was in charge of the preservation of the Capitol and looked after the Confederate cemeteries.<ref name="nge"/><ref name="NYT">{{cite web|title=Ben Fortson Jr. Is Dead at 74; Ex‐Secretary of State in Georgia|publisher=The New York Times|author=Ronald Sullivan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/21/archives/ben-fortson-jr-is-dead-at-74-exsecretary-of-state-in-georgia.html|date=May 21, 1979|accessdate=May 15, 2018}}</ref>
In 1946, Fortson was appointed secretary of state. While in office, he was assigned many different jobs that were not originally responsibilities of the office. Fortson was in charge of the preservation of the Capitol and looked after the Confederate cemeteries.<ref name="nge"/><ref name="NYT">{{cite web|title=Ben Fortson Jr. Is Dead at 74; Ex‐Secretary of State in Georgia|work=The New York Times|author=Ronald Sullivan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/21/archives/ben-fortson-jr-is-dead-at-74-exsecretary-of-state-in-georgia.html|date=May 21, 1979|access-date=May 15, 2018}}</ref>


In 1965, Fortson had the [[Georgia Archives]] relocated to a building on Capitol Avenue because the archives were too big for its previous location.<ref name="nge"/> "Fortson often said this was his proudest accomplishment".<ref name="nge"/> The building was later renamed for him. Another accomplishment Fortson had while he was in office was the custom of giving information on Georgia history to teachers and allowing children to visit the Capitol.<ref name="nge"/> At one point there was a report that he was going to move up in office until he said that "Secretary of state is a fascinating job, not like being governor,"<ref name="nge"/> revealing that he was running for another re-election.<ref name="nge"/>
In 1965, Fortson had the [[Georgia Archives]] relocated to a building on Capitol Avenue because the archives were too big for its previous location.<ref name="nge"/> "Fortson often said this was his proudest accomplishment".<ref name="nge"/> The building was later renamed for him. Another accomplishment Fortson had while he was in office was the custom of giving information on Georgia history to teachers and allowing children to visit the Capitol.<ref name="nge"/> At one point there was a report that he was going to move up in office until he said that "Secretary of state is a fascinating job, not like being governor,"<ref name="nge"/> revealing that he was running for another re-election.<ref name="nge"/>


===Three governors controversy===
===Three governors controversy===
{{main|Three Governors controversy}}
The three governors controversy took place from 1946 to 1947. [[Eugene Talmadge]] was elected to be the next governor of Georgia, but he fell ill and died before he was inaugurated. Because of this, the General Assembly decided to elect [[Herman Talmadge]], the son of Eugene Talmadge, to be the new governor of Georgia. However, two other people wanted the position. [[Ellis Arnall]], the governor who was about to leave office, decided to stay governor and refused to leave his office. The other man was [[Melvin Thompson]], the just-elected lieutenant governor.<ref name="three">{{cite web|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-591 |title=New Georgia Encyclopedia: Three Governors Controversy |publisher=Georgiaencyclopedia.org |date=2002-12-08 |accessdate=2013-03-12}}</ref> Fortson, who was secretary of state, was in charge of the state seal. Neither man could do official government actions without this seal, so Fortson hid the seal and refused to tell anyone where it was until the government issue was resolved. This caused the council to take action.<ref name="nge"/> After the dispute ended, he revealed the location of the hidden seal. Fortson had put the seal under a cushion in his wheelchair and had been sitting on it during the dispute. Fortson later quoted that he was "sitting on it like a setting of duck eggs."<ref name="NYT" /> The controversy ended with [[Melvin Thompson]] being named the new governor by the [[Supreme Court of Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia Supreme Court]].<ref name="three"/>
The three governors controversy took place from 1946 to 1947. [[Eugene Talmadge]] was elected to be the next governor of Georgia, but he fell ill and died before he was inaugurated. Because of this, the General Assembly decided to elect [[Herman Talmadge]], the son of Eugene Talmadge, to be the new governor of Georgia. However, two other people claimed the position. [[Ellis Arnall]], the governor who was about to leave office, decided to stay governor and refused to leave his office. The other man was [[Melvin E. Thompson]], the newly-elected lieutenant governor.<ref name="three">{{cite web|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-591 |title=New Georgia Encyclopedia: Three Governors Controversy |publisher=Georgiaencyclopedia.org |date=2002-12-08 |access-date=2013-03-12}}</ref> Fortson, who was secretary of state, was in charge of the state seal. Neither man could do official government actions without this seal, so Fortson hid the seal and refused to tell anyone where it was until the government issue was resolved. This caused the council to take action.<ref name="nge"/> After the dispute ended, he revealed the location of the hidden seal. Fortson had put the seal under a cushion in his wheelchair and had been sitting on it during the dispute. Fortson later quoted that he was "sitting on it like a setting of duck eggs."<ref name="NYT" /><ref>{{cite web |title=RICH: 'Mr. Ben' Fortson had his way|publisher=Jackson Progress-Argus|author=Ronda Rich|url=http://www.jacksonprogress-argus.com/features/rich-mr-ben-fortson-had-his-way/article_3bd83563-4eb1-593e-94b0-9b3850b57afe.html|date=April 17, 2017|access-date=May 15, 2018}}</ref> The controversy ended with Thompson being declared the governor by the [[Supreme Court of Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia Supreme Court]], which created a precedent in Georgia law.


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/39375410/benjamin-wynn-fortson Benjamin Wynn Fortson - Find a Grave]
*[http://atlantahh.com/atlantahh.pl?x=galleryitem&g=AJCatGSU&i=330 Photo - Georgia Governor Ellis Arnall swears in Benjamin W. Fortson Jr. as Secretary of State, Atlanta, Georgia, February 25, 1946 - Atlanta Journal Constitution Collection]

{{S-start}}
{{S-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=John Bryan Wilson}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Georgia Secretary of State|Secretary of State of Georgia]]|years=1946, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Max Cleland]]}}
{{Succession box|
{{Succession box|
before=John Bryan Wilson|
before=John Bryan Wilson|
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}}
}}
{{S-end}}
{{S-end}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortson, Benjamin W. Jr.}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortson, Benjamin W. Jr.}}
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[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Wilkes County, Georgia]]
[[Category:People from Wilkes County, Georgia]]
[[Category:Members of the Georgia House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) State Senators]]
[[Category:Democratic Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators]]
[[Category:Secretaries of State of Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Secretaries of state of Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly]]
[[Category:20th-century American politicians]]

Latest revision as of 07:49, 5 January 2025

For other uses, see Benjamin Fortson.
Benjamin Wynn Fortson Jr.
Official portrait, circa 1970s
21st Secretary of State of Georgia
In office
1946 – May 19, 1979
GovernorEllis Arnall
Eugene Talmadge
Melvin E. Thompson
Herman Talmadge
Marvin Griffin
Ernest Vandiver
Carl Sanders
Lester Maddox
Jimmy Carter
George Busbee
Preceded byJohn Bryan Wilson
Succeeded byDavid Poythress
Personal details
Born(1904-12-19)December 19, 1904
Wilkes County, Georgia, U.S.
DiedMay 19, 1979(1979-05-19) (aged 74)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Resting placeResthaven Cemetery, Wilkes County, Georgia
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Mary Cade
​
(died 1966)​
ChildrenAnn McNeill Fortson Mandus
Alma materEmory University
Signature

Benjamin Wynn Fortson Jr. (December 19, 1904 – May 19, 1979) was a Secretary of State of Georgia. After being selected by Ellis Arnall, the governor in 1946, Fortson kept his title as secretary until 1979, making him the longest-running secretary in Georgia history.

Background

[edit]

Benjamin Wynn Fortson Jr. was born in 1904 in Wilkes County, Georgia.[1] At 24, he was in a car accident that permanently paralyzed him from the waist down. Fortson served two terms in the Georgia House of Representatives. He was elected to the Georgia Senate in 1938 and served until he was appointed secretary of state by Governor Ellis Arnall in February 1946 to fill the unexpired term of John B. Wilson. Fortson was elected in the next election and every four years thereafter.[2]

He died on May 19, 1979, at the age of 74 at his home in Atlanta (DeKalb County) from heart failure. He was serving his ninth term as the Georgia Secretary of State when he died. After funeral services in the rotunda of the state Capitol, he was buried at Resthaven Cemetery in Wilkes County, Georgia.[3][2]

Secretary of State

[edit]
Georgia Flags by Fortson, 1963

In 1946, Fortson was appointed secretary of state. While in office, he was assigned many different jobs that were not originally responsibilities of the office. Fortson was in charge of the preservation of the Capitol and looked after the Confederate cemeteries.[2][4]

In 1965, Fortson had the Georgia Archives relocated to a building on Capitol Avenue because the archives were too big for its previous location.[2] "Fortson often said this was his proudest accomplishment".[2] The building was later renamed for him. Another accomplishment Fortson had while he was in office was the custom of giving information on Georgia history to teachers and allowing children to visit the Capitol.[2] At one point there was a report that he was going to move up in office until he said that "Secretary of state is a fascinating job, not like being governor,"[2] revealing that he was running for another re-election.[2]

Three governors controversy

[edit]
Main article: Three Governors controversy

The three governors controversy took place from 1946 to 1947. Eugene Talmadge was elected to be the next governor of Georgia, but he fell ill and died before he was inaugurated. Because of this, the General Assembly decided to elect Herman Talmadge, the son of Eugene Talmadge, to be the new governor of Georgia. However, two other people claimed the position. Ellis Arnall, the governor who was about to leave office, decided to stay governor and refused to leave his office. The other man was Melvin E. Thompson, the newly-elected lieutenant governor.[5] Fortson, who was secretary of state, was in charge of the state seal. Neither man could do official government actions without this seal, so Fortson hid the seal and refused to tell anyone where it was until the government issue was resolved. This caused the council to take action.[2] After the dispute ended, he revealed the location of the hidden seal. Fortson had put the seal under a cushion in his wheelchair and had been sitting on it during the dispute. Fortson later quoted that he was "sitting on it like a setting of duck eggs."[4][6] The controversy ended with Thompson being declared the governor by the Georgia Supreme Court, which created a precedent in Georgia law.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Who was who in America with world notables. 1943. ISBN 9780837902104. Retrieved 2013-03-12 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "New Georgia Encyclopedia: Ben Fortson (1904-1979)". Georgiaencyclopedia.org. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  3. ^ Sullivan, Ronald (1979-05-21). "Ben Fortson Jr. Is Dead at 74; Ex‐Secretary of State in Georgia". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  4. ^ a b Ronald Sullivan (May 21, 1979). "Ben Fortson Jr. Is Dead at 74; Ex‐Secretary of State in Georgia". The New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  5. ^ "New Georgia Encyclopedia: Three Governors Controversy". Georgiaencyclopedia.org. 2002-12-08. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  6. ^ Ronda Rich (April 17, 2017). "RICH: 'Mr. Ben' Fortson had his way". Jackson Progress-Argus. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
[edit]
Party political offices
Preceded by
John Bryan Wilson
 Democratic nominee for Secretary of State of Georgia
1946, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
John Bryan Wilson
 Secretary of State of Georgia
1946–1979 		Succeeded by
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