| Russell C. Davis (politician) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| c. 1960 | |||
| Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi | |||
In office July 1969 – 1977 | |||
| Preceded by | Allen C. Thompson | ||
| Succeeded by | Dale Danks | ||
| Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives | In office January 1960 – July 1969 | ||
| Succeeded by | John H. Stennis | ||
| Personal details | |||
| Born | August 13, 1922 Rockville, Maryland, U.S. | ||
| Died | October 16, 1993 (aged 71) Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. | ||
| Resting place | Jackson, MS | ||
| Political party | Democratic | ||
| Spouse(s) | Catherine Pullen (m. 1944) | ||
| Children | 3 | ||
Russell Carlos Davis (August 13, 1922 – October 16, 1993)[1][2] was an American politician and the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, from 1969 to 1977.[3][4] He was a Democrat.[5]
Early life[]
Russell Carlos Davis was born on August 13, 1922 in Rockville, Maryland, to Roy E. Davis (1890–1937), a landscaper.[4][6][7][8] Davis had one sister, who was named Mara Maude.[8][6] Russell Davis attended and graduated from Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland.[9] He started attending the University of Maryland at the age of 16, but his college career was cut short by World War II.[10] During World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was stationed in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1944. He was a lieutenant by the time he married Catherine Pullen while there, on June 14, 1944.[11][5][12][13] He worked in the insurance agency of his father-in-law, William H. Pullen.[5]
Political career[]
He was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1959,[5] representing Hinds County. He ran three times: first term unopposed, second opposed, and third unopposed, and served from 1960 until becoming the mayor of Jackson.[5] He became the mayor of Jackson on July 7, 1969, succeeding longtime mayor Allen Thompson.[14][5] The Jackson State killings also occurred during his tenure in 1970.[15] Also during his tenure as mayor, he presented the idea for a planetarium, which started construction in 1976 and is named after him.[16] He was an early advocate of moving from the mayor-commissioner form of government to the mayor-council form.[4] Mayor-council form was initiated after 1985. He stopped being mayor in 1977.[9] In 1981, he tried running for a third term, but lost the nomination bid to Dale Danks.[11] He died of cancer on October 16, 1993.[17][4]
References[]
- ↑ "Russell C Davis in Social Security Death Index" (in en). https://www.fold3.com/record/53452813-social-security-death-index-russell-c-davis.
- ↑ "Russell C. Davis (1922-1993) - Find A Grave..." (in en). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23844221/russell-c.-davis.
- ↑ "Russell C. Davis - Mississippi State University Libraries". https://www.library.msstate.edu/cprc/russell-c-davis.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Sun, Baltimore. "* Russell C. Davis, a former mayor..." (in en-US). https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1993-10-19-1993292124-story.html.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Caudill, Orley; Davis, Russell (1972). Oral history with the Honorable Russell C. Davis, mayor of the City of Jackson. Mississippi Digital Library. https://usm.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_868b3695-63c7-41c4-9f1a-811b9890d45f/.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X34G-6HQ : accessed 4 March 2021), Russell C Davis in household of Roy E Davis, Rockville, Montgomery, Maryland, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 9, sheet 3A, line 2, family 29, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 876; FHL microfilm 2,340,611.
- ↑ "Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi on February 25, 1968 · Page 32" (in en). http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/181000020/?terms=Roy%20E%20Davis&match=2.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "5 Sep 1937, 10 - Evening Star at Newspapers.com" (in en). http://www.newspapers.com/image/618962032/?article=b586358a-872c-44c4-a6ac-55836d1fa0fa.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi on January 10, 1993 · Page 44" (in en). http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/182264259/?terms=Roy%20E%20Davis%20rockville%20md&match=4.
- ↑ "Obituary for Russell C. Davis". The Northside Sun. 1993-10-21. pp. 6. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75554097/obituary-for-russell-c-davis/.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "17 Oct 1993, Page 19 - Clarion-Ledger at Newspapers.com" (in en). http://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=55382559&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjE4MjQ5OTM1OSwiaWF0IjoxNjA1MTk0NDQ4LCJleHAiOjE2MDUyODA4NDh9.uRpMlEsN-hD6jvOEYGUhkNdNY6qk9AbROPlc2_k7B3I.
- ↑ (in en) The Eleusis of Chi Omega. Chi Omega Fraternity. 1944. pp. 487. https://books.google.com/books?id=TItMAAAAYAAJ&q=Russell+Carlos+Davis.
- ↑ "Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi on June 18, 1944 · Page 18" (in en). http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/202664222/?terms=Russell%20Carlos%20Davis&match=1.
- ↑ Holland, Arthur J.; Cities, National League of (1972) (in en). Mayors View Manpower Reform: Collection of Articles. National League of Cities and the U. S. Conference of Mayors. pp. 8. https://books.google.com/books?id=f4dXAAAAYAAJ&q=russell+c+davis+mississippi.
- ↑ "Welcome to the Civil Rights Digital Library". http://crdl.usg.edu/export/html/usm/coh/crdl_usm_coh_ohdavisr.html?Welcome.
- ↑ "Russell C. Davis PLANETARIUM" (in EN). https://www.seenmagazine.us/Articles/Article-Detail/ArticleId/2037/Russell-C.-Davis-PLANETARIUM.
- ↑ "Former Jackson Mayor Russell Davis dies of cancer". Clarion-Ledger. 1993-10-17. pp. 1. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55382452/former-jackson-mayor-russell-davis-dies/.
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