Evan Park Howell (December 10, 1839August 6, 1905) was an American politician and early

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

operator, as well as an officer in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighti ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

Early years and education

Evan Howell was born to Effie Howell (née Park) and Atlanta pioneer Clark Howell, Sr. in Warsaw, Georgia (then in Forsyth County, now Milton County) on December 10, 1839.Franklin Garrett Necrology Database - Atlanta History Center
/ref> He became a runner and pupil of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

's first telegraph operator, D.U. Sloan, at the age of twelve. In 1855 he attended

Georgia Military Institute The Georgia Military Institute (GMI) was established on in Marietta, Georgia, United States, on July 1, 1851. It was burned by the Union Army during the Civil War and was never rebuilt. The current GMI is a reactivation of the name for a Georgia ...

in Marietta. He

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under th ...

in Sandersville, and briefly practiced law in Atlanta before the outbreak of war.

Military service

In 1861, he joined the

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...

, enlisting in Georgia's First Regiment. Within 2 years, Howell was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

. He fought under

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

, and then was sent

west West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, where he fought in the

Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 19–20, 1863, between U.S. and Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a Union offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign, in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. ...

and the Atlanta Campaign, in which he defended the city as a captain of artillery.Nixon, Raymond B., ''Henry W. Grady: Spokesman of the New South'', Knopf, 1943, p.128 He ended the war in Hardee's Corps as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Howell's Battery, Georgia Light Artillery.

Business and political career

Upon his return, he farmed for two years, clearing and selling lumber on his father's land near Atlanta. Then for a year he was a reporter, then city editor, of Atlanta's '' Daily Intelligencer''. In 1869 he returned to

practicing law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the profes ...

and served in a number of political positions including member of city council, member of the state Senate, and solicitor-general of the Atlanta circuit. One of his law clients was ''

The Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'', where he learned E.Y. Clarke was willing to sell his one half interest in the paper. In 1876, Howell purchased the 50% interest in ''The Constitution'' and became its

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

. For the next 25 years, the paper was owned by Howell and the managing partner, William Hemphill. Both Hemphill, and later Howell, would go on to serve as Mayor of Atlanta. With Richard Peters, Samuel M. Inman, Lemuel Grant, and James W. English, he purchased the buildings on the site of the International Cotton Exposition of 1881 and made it the Exposition Cotton Mills, which were successful for many years. While editor of the ''Constitution'' in 1895, he sent out transcripts of Booker T. Washington's '' separate as the fingers'' speech across the country. He served on the

Atlanta City Council The Atlanta City Council is the main municipal legislative body for the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It consists of 16 members primarily elected from 12 districts within the city. The Atlanta City Government is divided into three bo ...

numerous times, and served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

shortly before his death there on August 6, 1905. His son

Clark Howell Clark Howell (September 21, 1863 – November 14, 1936) was a Pulitzer Prize winning American newspaper man and politician from the state of Georgia. For fifty-three years, he was editorial executive and owner of '' The Atlanta Constitut ...

took up his mantle at the ''Constitution''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Evan Mayors of Atlanta 1839 births 1905 deaths People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War Confederate States Army officers People from Marietta, Georgia People from Sandersville, Georgia American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law