Benjamin Conley (March 1, 1815 – January 10, 1886) was an American politician from the state of Georgia, who served as the
47th Governor of Georgia from October 30, 1871, to January 12, 1872. He also previously served as the
mayor of Augusta from 1857 to 1859.
Biography
Conley was born in
Newark, New Jersey, in 1815 and moved to
Savannah, Georgia, in his youth. He died in 1886 in
Atlanta in an area known at the time as
West End
West End most commonly refers to:
* West End of London, an area of central London, England
* West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England
West End may also refer to:
Pl ...
. Conley was buried at Augusta's Magnolia Cemetery.
Political career
Conley's previous political service included the office of mayor of
Augusta, Georgia, from 1857 to 1859. Conley served as the
47th Governor of Georgia from October 30, 1871, to January 12, 1872, during
Reconstruction and was the second
Republican governor of
Georgia. Conley was serving as the president of the
Georgia Senate when his predecessor,
Rufus B. Bullock
Rufus Brown Bullock (March 28, 1834 – April 27, 1907) was a Republican Party politician and businessman in Georgia. During the Reconstruction Era he served as the state's governor and called for equal economic opportunity and political rights f ...
, was forced to resign. Under the
Constitution of Georgia in effect at that time, as the Senate president, Conley assumed the governorship and served for only two months. Conley was the last Republican to serve as governor of Georgia until 2003, when
Sonny Perdue became governor of Georgia.
References
Georgia State Archives Roster of State Governors''Georgia Governor's Gravesites Field Guide (1776–2003)''
External links
at the
National Governors Association
Benjamin Conley entryat
The Political Graveyard
*
1815 births
1886 deaths
Republican Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators
Republican Party governors of Georgia (U.S. state)
Mayors of Augusta, Georgia
Politicians from Newark, New Jersey
Politicians from Savannah, Georgia
19th-century American politicians
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