John Samuel Benham (October 24, 1863 – December 11, 1935) was an American educator and politician who served two terms as aU.S. Representative fromIndiana from 1919 to 1923.

Born on a farm nearBenham, Indiana, Benham attended public schools, a business college inDelaware, Ohio, and a normal school inBrookville, Indiana.He taught school in the winter and attended college in the summer, being engaged as a teacher in various places in Indiana from 1882 to 1907.He graduated fromIndiana State University inTerre Haute, Indiana, in 1893 and fromIndiana University atBloomington, Indiana, in 1903. He specialized in history at theUniversity of Chicago for several terms. He became the superintendent of schools for Ripley County for fourteen years. He returned toBenham, Indiana, in 1907 and engaged in the timber, milling, contracting business, and followed agricultural pursuits. He served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1916.

Benham was elected as aRepublican to theSixty-sixth andSixty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1919-March 3, 1923).He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings (Sixty-seventh Congress).He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1922 to theSixty-eighth Congress.

He moved toBatesville, Indiana, in 1923 and engaged as a building contractor. He was again the superintendent of schools for Ripley County, Indiana from 1924 to 1929.He retired from active business pursuits in 1931 and resided inBatesville, Indiana, until his death there on December 11, 1935.He was interred in Benham Church Cemetery, nearBenham, Indiana.

• United States Congress."John S. Benham (id: B000361)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

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• 1863 births
• 1935 deaths
• People from Franklin County, Indiana
• Indiana State University alumni
• Politicians from Terre Haute, Indiana
• Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana
• 20th-century United States representatives

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress