William Yates Atkinson

Who was William Yates Atkinson?

William Yates Atkinson was the 55th Governor of Georgia from 1894 to 1898.

Atkinson graduated from the University of Georgia with an LL.B in 1877. He married Susie Cobb Milton in 1880.

The elder Atkinson was the solicitor of the Coweta Superior Court circuit. He then represented Coweta County as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, where he was the speaker, or presiding officer, during the last two years. He was also the Georgia Democratic Party state chair from 1890 to 1892.

Atkinson died on August 8, 1899 in Newnan, Georgia, aged 44. He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in that city.

Other notable facts about Atkinson:

He hired the first woman salaried employee in state government, Ellen Dortch, as assistant state librarian.

Atkinson County, Georgia is named for him.

In 1897, he vetoed a law that would have prohibited football in the state, due in part to an impassioned letter from Rosalind Burns Gammon, whose son's death had initiated the anti-football legislation.