Atlanta Mayor, Politician. The youngest of three sons born to Charles Green Hartsfield and Victoria Dagnall Hartsfield, he was educated in the Atlanta public school system. In 1922, he was elected to the Atlanta City Council and as an alderman, he helped establish Atlanta's first airport. As a member of a subcommittee for the finance committee, he helped to select Candler Speedway's (named after The Coca-Cola Company founder & the 41st mayor of Atlanta, Asa Griggs Candler Sr.) as a landing field for airplanes. He believed Atlanta's future was in air transportation, so he took the lead in promoting it throughout his political career. He served two terms in the Georgia House of Representatives during the 1930s. Hartsfield served as the 49th and 51st Mayor of Atlanta for six terms (1937 to 1941, 1942 to 1962), longer than any other person in the city's history; the second longest-serving mayor in Atlanta history is Maynard Jackson. Hartsfield built a biracial coalition for winning elections, his strategy was very useful as the city experienced the beginning of the civil rights movements in the 1950s. Under Hartsfield on August 30, 1961, Atlanta integrated its public school system, leading Atlanta to acquire its reputation as "A City Too Busy to Hate." Hartsfield received an honorary degree from Oglethorpe University in Brookhaven, Georgia. After more than thirty years of public service on June 7, 1961, Hartsfield made the announcement that he would not seek re-election; his final term as mayor ended in 1962. A week after his death in 1971, the Atlanta City Council renamed the Atlanta Municipal Airport: the William B. Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport. After former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson's death, the airport was then renamed: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) in 2003, honoring both mayors.
Atlanta Mayor, Politician. The youngest of three sons born to Charles Green Hartsfield and Victoria Dagnall Hartsfield, he was educated in the Atlanta public school system. In 1922, he was elected to the Atlanta City Council and as an alderman, he helped establish Atlanta's first airport. As a member of a subcommittee for the finance committee, he helped to select Candler Speedway's (named after The Coca-Cola Company founder & the 41st mayor of Atlanta, Asa Griggs Candler Sr.) as a landing field for airplanes. He believed Atlanta's future was in air transportation, so he took the lead in promoting it throughout his political career. He served two terms in the Georgia House of Representatives during the 1930s. Hartsfield served as the 49th and 51st Mayor of Atlanta for six terms (1937 to 1941, 1942 to 1962), longer than any other person in the city's history; the second longest-serving mayor in Atlanta history is Maynard Jackson. Hartsfield built a biracial coalition for winning elections, his strategy was very useful as the city experienced the beginning of the civil rights movements in the 1950s. Under Hartsfield on August 30, 1961, Atlanta integrated its public school system, leading Atlanta to acquire its reputation as "A City Too Busy to Hate." Hartsfield received an honorary degree from Oglethorpe University in Brookhaven, Georgia. After more than thirty years of public service on June 7, 1961, Hartsfield made the announcement that he would not seek re-election; his final term as mayor ended in 1962. A week after his death in 1971, the Atlanta City Council renamed the Atlanta Municipal Airport: the William B. Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport. After former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson's death, the airport was then renamed: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) in 2003, honoring both mayors.
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