William Yates Atkinson | |
|---|---|
 Atkinson,c. 1898 | |
| 55thGovernor of Georgia | |
| In office October 27, 1894 – October 29, 1898 | |
| Preceded by | William J. Northen |
| Succeeded by | Allen D. Candler |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Yates Atkinson (1854-11-11)November 11, 1854 Meriwether County,Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | August 8, 1899(1899-08-08) (aged 44) Newnan, Georgia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Oak Hill Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Alma mater | University of Georgia(LL.B.) |
William Yates Atkinson (November 11, 1854 – August 8, 1899) was an American politician who served as the governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1894 to 1898.
Atkinson was born in the Oakland community inMeriwether County, Georgia, on November 11, 1854. He graduated from theUniversity of Georgia with anLL.B in 1877. He marriedSusan Cobb Milton, granddaughter of Florida GovernorJohn Milton,[1] in 1880.
After graduating from the University of Georgia, Atkinson began practicing law inNewnan. Atkinson was the solicitor of the Coweta Superior Court circuit. He then representedCoweta County as a member of theGeorgia House of Representatives (1886–94), where he was the speaker, or presiding officer, during the last two years. As a state representative, he introduced a bill that established the Georgia Normal and Industrial College, which later becameGeorgia College and State University inMilledgeville, Georgia. He was also the GeorgiaDemocratic Party state chair from 1890 to 1892.
Atkinson won the 1894 election and was elected Governor of Georgia. He was reelected to a second term in 1896.[2] During his administration, he hired the first woman salaried employee in state government, Helen Dortch, as assistant state librarian. In 1897, he vetoed a law that would have prohibited football in the state, due in part to an impassioned letter fromRosalind Burns Gammon, whose son's death had initiated the anti-football legislation.[3] He was vehement in his opposition to the practice of lynching.[4]
Atkinson was mentioned byWilliam Henry Holtzclaw, later founder of Utica Institute in Mississippi, as giving him the money he needed to go back to Tuskegee Institute for college - as well as a kindly lecture on the advisability of staying out of politics.[5]
After his two terms as governor, Atkinson bravely confronted the mob in the infamousSam Hose lynching and tried to get them to allow the legal justice system to take its course.[6] He was unsuccessful, however, and Hose was lynched soon after Atkinson confronted the mob.
Atkinson died on August 8, 1899, at the age of 44. He is buried inOak Hill Cemetery in Newnan.Atkinson County, Georgia, is named for him.
His son,William Yates Atkinson Jr., was the Georgia Democratic state chair in 1942 as well as a Georgia state Supreme Court justice from 1943 to 1948.
Atkinson Hall, on the campus ofGeorgia College and State University, is named for him.[7]
William Yates Atkinson.
Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Atkinson, William Yates".The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. Boston: American Biographical Society. p. 160.
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| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Georgia 1894, 1896 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Georgia 1894 – 1898 | Succeeded by |
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