Walthall Robertson "Cap" Joyner (June 30, 1854January 5, 1925) was the 40th Mayor of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Biography

Born in

Cobb County, Georgia Cobb County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north central portion of the state. As of 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta. Along with ...

, he moved to Atlanta at a young age and began as a volunteer firefighter at the age of 15. In 1872, at the age of 18, he was made assistant chief, the first of many promotions. He was fire chief of Atlanta from 1885 to 1906 until becoming mayor and the first southerner President of the

International Association of Fire Chiefs The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) is a network of more than 12,000 fire chiefs and emergency officers.

. He was Fire Chief when the Markham House burned to the ground. He defeated

Thomas Goodwin Thomas Goodwin ( Rollesby, Norfolk, 5 October 160023 February 1680), known as "the Elder", was an English Puritan theologian and preacher, and an important leader of religious Independents. He served as chaplain to Oliver Cromwell, and was impo ...

(incumbent mayor James G. Woodward didn't run) in 1907 and under his leadership a memorial was made of the

Wren's Nest The Wren's Nest is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, north west of the town centre of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. It is one of the most important geological locations in Britain. ...

after

Joel Chandler Harris Joel Chandler Harris (December 9, 1848 – July 3, 1908) was an American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a planta ...

's death. During the

Great Atlanta fire of 1917 The Great Atlanta Fire of 1917 began just after noon on 21 May 1917 in the Old Fourth Ward of Atlanta, Georgia. It is unclear just how the fire started, but it was fueled by hot temperatures and strong winds which propelled the fire. The fire, ...

, Joyner was the State Fire Marshal of Georgia and led the firefighters that came to assist from outlying cities.Campbell, p.45

References

early career
* Campbell, Steve B., "The Great Fire of Atlanta, May 21, 1917", ''

Atlanta Historical Bulletin ''Atlanta History: A Journal of Georgia and the South'' was a publication of the Atlanta Historical Society. It was established in 1927 with one issue per year as the ''Atlanta Historical Bulletin''. In 1937, the journal began publishing three o ...

'', Vol. XIII, No. 2 (June, 1968), p. 9-48

Notes

1854 births 1925 deaths Mayors of Atlanta American fire chiefs International Association of Fire Chiefs {{GeorgiaUS-mayor-stub