William Christie Benet Jr. (December 26, 1879 – March 30, 1951) was a Democratic Party politician who briefly represented the state of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

in 1918.

Early years

Benet was born in

Abbeville, South Carolina Abbeville is a city and county seat of Abbeville County, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is located west of Columbia and south of Greenville. Its population was 5,237 at the 2010 census. Settled by French Huguenot settlers, it was n ...

; he attended the common schools in his youth, and matriculated at the

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th-oldest institution of higher lea ...

, the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

, and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, where he graduated in 1902.

Football

He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

and was a star tackle for

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, selected All-Southern in

1901 December 13 of this year is the beginning of signed 32-bit Unix time, and is scheduled to end in January 19, 2038. Summary Political and military 1901 started with the unification of multiple British colonies in Australia on January ...

. Benet coached football at South Carolina in 1903 and 1907. He assisted coach and Virginia teammate Bob Williams in

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's ...

, when Carolina upset

John Heisman John William Heisman ( ; October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was a player and coach of American football, baseball, and basketball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College, Buchtel College ...

's Clemson team.

Law career

He studied the law, and upon his admission to the bar began practice in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

, in 1903.

Solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

of the fifth judicial circuit in 1908, Benet became Columbia's city attorney from 1910 to 1912. He was the secretary of the Democratic State committee three times.

Senator

On July 6, 1918 he was appointed to the Senate to fill out the term of Benjamin R. Tillman, who died in office. He served until November 5, when a successor to the position was elected; Benet himself was an unsuccessful candidate in the same election to fill the vacancy. During his brief time in the Senate, Benet was the chairman of the Committee on National Banks; upon his defeat, he resumed his practice.

State hospital

From 1915 he was a member of the

board of regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual co ...

of the

South Carolina State Hospital The South Carolina State Hospital was a publicly funded state-run psychiatric hospital in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 1821 as the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum, it was one of the first public mental hospitals established in the United St ...

, later becoming the chairman of the board; in this capacity he served until 1946.

War and death

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Benet chaired the War Finance Committee for South Carolina.

Death

He was serving as the chairman of the Alien Enemy Hearing Board for the state's eastern district at his death; he died in Columbia, and was interred locally in Elmwood Cemetery. Benet Hall, a residence hall at

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, is named in his honor.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benet, Christie 1879 births 1951 deaths American athlete-politicians American football guards American football tackles Clemson University trustees Democratic Party United States senators from South Carolina South Carolina Democrats South Carolina state solicitors South Carolina Gamecocks athletic directors South Carolina Gamecocks football coaches South Carolina Gamecocks football players Virginia Cavaliers football coaches Virginia Cavaliers football players College of Charleston alumni All-Southern college football players University of South Carolina alumni People from Abbeville, South Carolina Coaches of American football from South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina 20th-century South Carolina politicians 20th-century United States senators