Important People in Georgia History

Flashcards for Important People in Georgia History for Final Exam Review

Hernando DeSoto

First Spanish explorer to set foot in Georgia.

Tomochichi

Chief of the Yamacraw Indians who allowed the Georgia colonists to build Savannah.

James Oglethorpe

Founder of the Georgia Colony.

Mary Musgrove

Interpreter between James Oglethorpe and Chief Tomochichi.

King George II

King of Great Britain who granted the Charter of 1732, establishing the Georgia Colony.

John Reynolds

Georgia’s first colonial royal governor who introduced self-government.

Henry Ellis

Georgia’s second colonial royal governor, popular for fostering economic and population growth.

James Wright

Georgia’s third colonial royal governor who worked to strengthen the colony's defense.

Elijah Clarke

Commander of the Georgia militia at the Battle of Kettle Creek.

Austin Dabney

Black soldier wounded at the Battle of Kettle Creek and awarded land for his service.

Nancy Hart

Revolutionary War Heroine; Hart County is named after her.

George Washington

Leader of the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Casimir Pulaski

Polish nobleman who helped the Patriots and died at the Siege of Savannah.

Thomas Jefferson

Main author of the Declaration of Independence.

Button Gwinnett

A Georgia signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Lyman Hall

A Georgia signer of the Declaration of Independence.

George Walton

A Georgia signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Abraham Baldwin

A Georgia signer of the United States Constitution.

William Few

A Georgia signer of the United States Constitution.

William McIntosh

Creek Chief who signed the Treaty of Indian Springs and was killed for it.

Sequoyah

Created the written language for the Cherokee, the Syllabary.

John Ross

Cherokee Chief who asked Washington for treaties to be honored.

Andrew Jackson

President who signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

John Marshall

Chief Justice during Worchester vs. Georgia, ruling in favor of the Cherokee.

Eli Whitney

Inventor of the cotton gin.

Alexander Stephens

Georgia Congressman, supported the Georgia Platform, and became VP of the Confederacy.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States of America.

William T. Sherman

Union General famous for his March to the Sea.

Robert E. Lee

Confederate General during the Civil War.

Ulysses S. Grant

Union General who won the Civil War and later became president.

Abraham Lincoln

His election in 1860 caused the secession of Southern states; he passed the Emancipation Proclamation.

Henry Wirz

Commander of the Andersonville Prison Camp, executed for his treatment of prisoners.

Andrew Johnson

U.S. President during Reconstruction, impeached by Congress.

Henry McNeal Turner

One of the first African Americans elected to the Georgia General Assembly but was expelled.

John Gordon

Member of the Bourbon Triumvirate. Held positions of State Senator, U.S. Senator and Governor. Resigned from the Senate to accept a position at Northeastern railroad. Gordon College in Barnesville is named for him

Alfred Colquitt

Member of the Bourbon Triumvirate. Held positions of State Senator, U.S. Senator and governor. Attended GA’s secession convention.

Joseph Brown

Oldest member of the Bourbon Triumvirate; Lawyer, State Senator, Judge, Governor, Chief Justice, and U.S. Senator.

Henry Grady

Journalist who coined the phrase “New South”.

Tom Watson

Georgia’s Best-Known Populist; concerned about African American Farmers.

Rebecca Latimer Felton

Leader in suffrage, temperance movement, and helped end the Convict Lease System; first woman U.S. Senator.

Leo Frank

Jewish man lynched after being accused of murder; his case led to the rebirth of the KKK in GA.

Homer Plessy

Challenged segregation laws on trains; led to 'separate but equal' doctrine.

Booker T. Washington

President of the Tuskegee Institute; gave the “Atlanta Compromise Speech”.

W.E.B. DuBois

Opposed Booker T. Washington; wanted social and political integration.

Alonzo Herndon

Wealthiest African American in Atlanta at the time of his death; founder of Atlanta Life Insurance Company.

Eugene Talmadge

Governor elected 4 times but died before his 4th term; did not support the New Deal.

Richard Russell

GA Governor and U.S. Senator; 'father of the school lunch program'.

Carl Vinson

Served in the US House of Representatives for 50 years, father of the two-ocean navy

Franklin D. Roosevelt

President during the New Deal and WWII; visited Warm Springs for polio treatment.

William B. Hartsfield

Longest serving mayor of Atlanta; 'Father of Atlanta Aviation'.

Ivan Allen Jr.

Desegregated public facilities in Atlanta; brought major sports teams to Atlanta.

Ellis Arnall

Ga Governor; First governor to serve 4 years.

Melvin Thompson

Lieutenant Governor during the Three Governors Episode; became Governor temporarily.

Herman Talmadge

Involved in the Three Governors’ Episode; later became a U.S. Senator.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil Rights Leader; developed a non-violent approach to social change; gave the “I have a Dream Speech”.

John Lewis

Civil Rights leader; chairman of SNCC; later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Maynard Jackson

First African American Mayor of Atlanta.

Lester Maddox

Owned the “Pickrick” restaurant; known as the “axe handle governor”.

Andrew Young

Aide to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; US Ambassador to the United Nations; Mayor of Atlanta.

Jimmy Carter

From Plains, GA; U.S. President during the Camp David Accords and the Iranian Hostage Crisis.