John Samuel Benham (October 24, 1863 – December 11, 1935) was an American educator and politician who served two terms as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

from 1919 to 1923.

Biography

Born on a farm near

Benham, Indiana Benham is an unincorporated community in Brown Township, Ripley County, in the U.S. state of Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 State ...

, Benham attended public schools, a business college in Delaware, Ohio, and a normal school in Brookville, Indiana. He taught school in the winter and attended college in the summer, being engaged as a teacher in various places in Indiana from 1882 to 1907. He graduated from Indiana State University in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

, in 1893 and from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

, in 1903. He specialized in history at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

for several terms. He became the superintendent of schools for Ripley County for fourteen years. He returned to

, in 1907 and engaged in the timber, milling, contracting business, and followed agricultural pursuits. He served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1916.

Congress

Benham was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-sixth and Sixty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1919-March 3, 1923). He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings (Sixty-seventh Congress). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1922 to the Sixty-eighth Congress.

Later career and death

He moved to

Batesville, Indiana Batesville is a city in Franklin and Ripley counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 6,520 at the 2010 census, making it the largest community in both counties but is not the county seat of either. The Batesville Casket Company ...

, in 1923 and engaged as a building contractor. He was again the superintendent of schools for Ripley County, Indiana from 1924 to 1929. He retired from active business pursuits in 1931 and resided in

, until his death there on December 11, 1935. He was interred in Benham Church Cemetery, near

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benham, John Samuel 1863 births 1935 deaths People from Franklin County, Indiana Indiana State University alumni Politicians from Terre Haute, Indiana Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana