Representative Benjamin Bentley Blackburn

Benjamin Bentley Blackburn III (February 14, 1927 – December 3, 2024) was an American politician and attorney from the state of Georgia who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. Representing Georgia’s 4th congressional district, he served four consecutive terms in Congress from January 3, 1967, to January 3, 1975, during a period of significant political and social change in the United States. Over the course of his legislative career, Blackburn participated actively in the federal lawmaking process and represented the interests of his constituents in the Atlanta metropolitan area as the Republican Party was beginning to gain strength in what had long been a predominantly Democratic region.

Blackburn was born on February 14, 1927. He came of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War, experiences that shaped the generation of leaders to which he belonged. Like many of his contemporaries, he entered military service as a young man, serving in the United States Navy during World War II. His early life in the South and his wartime service helped form the basis of his later interest in public affairs, law, and government, and provided him with firsthand exposure to national service and the workings of federal institutions.

Following his military service, Blackburn pursued higher education and legal training, preparing for a professional career that would combine law and politics. He studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and later attended law school, gaining admission to the bar and entering the practice of law. His legal background equipped him with a detailed understanding of constitutional and statutory issues, which would later inform both his legislative work in Congress and his leadership in public-interest legal advocacy. Establishing himself professionally in Georgia, he became part of a rising generation of Republican lawyers and public figures in the state.

Blackburn’s political career reached its peak with his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1966 as a Republican from Georgia’s 4th congressional district. Taking office on January 3, 1967, he served four terms, remaining in the House until January 3, 1975. His tenure coincided with the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, and major debates over federal spending, social programs, and the role of the federal government. As a member of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Bentley Blackburn participated in the democratic process, contributed to the legislative work of the chamber, and advocated for the views and interests of his constituents during a transformative era in American political life. His service reflected the broader realignment of Southern politics, as Republicans began to gain a more durable foothold in congressional representation from Georgia and the region.

After leaving Congress in 1975, Blackburn remained active in public affairs. He was nominated to serve on the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, an important federal body overseeing aspects of the nation’s housing finance system, but his nomination was rejected by the United States Senate. Despite this setback, he continued to play a role in conservative legal and policy circles. In the late 1970s and the early 1980s, he served as president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, a public-interest law firm based in the South that focused on constitutional litigation, limited government, and property rights. In that role, Blackburn drew on his legal training and congressional experience to help shape the foundation’s litigation strategy and its engagement with issues of federalism and regulatory authority.

In his later years, Blackburn remained a respected figure among Georgia Republicans and those interested in the development of the modern conservative movement in the South. His career spanned military service, legal practice, elective office, and leadership in public-interest law, reflecting a sustained engagement with questions of governance, constitutional interpretation, and public policy. Benjamin Bentley Blackburn III died on December 3, 2024, closing a long life that had intersected with many of the central political and legal developments of the mid- to late twentieth century in Georgia and the United States.