Representative Harlan Erwin Mitchell

Harlan Erwin Mitchell, Sr. (August 17, 1924 – September 13, 2011) was a United States Representative from Georgia and a member of the Democratic Party who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1957 to 1961. He was born in Dalton, Whitfield County, Georgia, the second son of Douglas Wright Mitchell and Mary Adelia Erwin Mitchell. Raised in Dalton, he completed his early education there and graduated from Dalton High School in 1940 at the age of sixteen.

Following high school, Mitchell attended The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, before transferring to the University of Georgia. With the onset of the Second World War and at the age of eighteen, he volunteered for flight training with the United States Army Air Corps. From 1943 through 1946, he served overseas in the Pacific Theater as a first lieutenant, flying P-51 fighter aircraft from Iwo Jima to Japan. In this role he escorted B-29 bombers on long-range bombing raids and participated in fighter strikes against airfields, shipping, rail transportation, and other strategic targets.

Between his periods of military service, Mitchell pursued legal studies, following in the professional path of his father. He attended the University of Georgia School of Law in Athens and earned an LL.B. degree in 1948. He was admitted to the bar on April 17, 1948, and established a law practice in his hometown of Dalton. His early legal career was interrupted when he was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. Serving in the United States Air Force, he spent approximately seventeen months on active duty in 1951 and 1952.

While still in the Air Force, Mitchell entered electoral politics. He ran for the position of solicitor general of the Cherokee Judicial Circuit in Georgia and was elected. He served as solicitor general from January 1, 1953, until December 31, 1956. Demonstrating rapid advancement in the state judiciary, he was then elected as Georgia’s youngest Superior Court judge at the age of thirty-one. He served as a judge of the Superior Court from January 1, 1957, until January 8, 1958.

Mitchell’s congressional career began following the death of U.S. Representative Henderson Lovelace Lanham in November 1957. He announced his intention to run for Georgia’s 7th congressional district seat and, running as a Democrat, won the special election to fill the vacancy in the 85th United States Congress. He took office in 1957 and served through the remainder of that term, then won re-election in 1958 to the 86th Congress. His service in Congress, from 1957 to 1961, occurred during a significant period in American history marked by the early stages of the civil rights movement and the intensification of Cold War tensions. As a member of the House of Representatives, Harlan Erwin Mitchell participated in the legislative process, contributed to the work of the Democratic majority, and represented the interests of his constituents in Georgia’s 7th district. He chose not to seek re-election to the House in 1960.

After leaving the U.S. House of Representatives, Mitchell continued his public service at the state level. In 1960 he was elected to the Georgia State Senate, where he served for one full term. Following his tenure in the state legislature, he returned to private legal practice in Dalton. There he joined with his father and his brother, Doug, to establish the law firm of Mitchell and Mitchell, continuing a family tradition in the legal profession.

Mitchell remained active in the practice of law and continued to reside in Dalton for the remainder of his life. He practiced law well into his later years and maintained close ties to his community. Harlan Erwin Mitchell, Sr. died on September 13, 2011, shortly after leaving Dalton, at the age of eighty-seven.