Benton McMillin

Benton McMillin (September 11, 1845  – January 8, 1933) was the Governor of Tennessee from 1899 to 1903. A Democrat, he was a native of Monroe County, Kentucky and an attorney.

Biography

He was born on September 11, 1845.

McMillin was a member of the state legislature from 1875 to 1877, and served in the United States Congress from 1879 until his election as governor in November, 1898. He was governor during the settlement of a long-running boundary dispute between Tennessee and Virginia. He pushed for the adoption of uniform textbooks in the state public schools and a tax increase to support public high schools. Re-elected in 1900, he subsequently entered the insurance business at the end of his second term.

McMillin later was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson as U.S. Minister to Peru from 1913 to 1919, and as Minister to Guatemala from 1919 to 1923.

He died on January 8, 1933.

References

• Tennessee Encyclopedia, Benton McMillin [1]
• Benton McMillin at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Haywood Yancey Riddle	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 4th congressional district 1879-1899	Succeeded by Charles Edward Snodgrass
Political offices
Preceded by Robert Love Taylor	Governor of Tennessee 1899-1903	Succeeded by James B. Frazier
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by H. Clay Howard	United States Minister to Peru 9 September 1913–5 September 1919	Succeeded by William E. Gonzales
Preceded by William Hayne Leavell	United States Minister to Guatemala January 15, 1920–December 6, 1921	Succeeded by Arthur H. Geissler