Benjamin Ryan Tillman (August 11, 1847 - July 3, 1918) was an American politician who served as governor of South Carolina from 1890 to 1894 and as a United States Senator from 1895 until his death. August 11 is the 223rd day of the year (224th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... A list of South Carolina Governors. ... State nickname: Palmetto State Other U.S. States Capital Columbia Largest city Columbia Governor Mark Sanford (R) Official languages English Area 82,965 km² (40th)  - Land 78,051 km²  - Water 4,915 km² (6%) Population (2000)  - Population {{{2000Pop}}} (26th)  - Density 51. ... 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1894 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Seal of the Senate The United States Senate is one of the two houses of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. ... 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Tillman was born near Trenton, South Carolina. He left school in 1864 to join the Army of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Trenton is a town located in Edgefield County, South Carolina. ... 1864 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... National Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God our Vindicator) Official language English de facto nationwide Various European and Native American languages regionally Capital Montgomery, Alabama February 4, 1861–May 29, 1861 Richmond, Virginia May 29, 1861–April 9, 1865 Danville, Virginia April 3–April 10, 1865 Largest city New Orleans... The American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 until 1865 between the United States – forces coming mostly from the 23 northern states of the Union – and the newly-formed Confederate States of America, which consisted of 11 southern states that had declared their secession. ...

Tillman was elected Governor of South Carolina in 1890 and served from December 1890 to December 1894. He helped establish Clemson College and Winthrop College while in office. 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina, was founded in 1889, a legacy of Thomas Green Clemson, who willed his Fort Hill plantation home, its surrounding farmlands and forest, and other property to the State of South Carolina to establish a technical and scientific institution for South Carolina. ... Winthrop University (formerly Winthrop College) is an American public, four-year liberal arts college in Rock Hill, South Carolina, within the greater Metrolina area. ...

He became a member of the State constitutional convention in 1895. 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

He was elected as a United States Democratic Party member to the United States Senate in 1894, and was reelected in 1901, 1907, and 1913, thus serving from the day he took office, 4 March 1895, until his death. An outspoken populist, Tillman was known as "Pitchfork Ben" during his years in the Senate. During that time period, he was censured by the Senate in 1902 after assaulting another Senator on the Senate floor, became the chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary Claims (57th through 59th Congresses), served on the Committee on Five Civilized Tribes of Indians (61st and 62nd Congresses), and the Committee on Naval Affairs (63rd through 65th Congresses). During World War I, impatient with the Navy's requests for larger battleships every year, he ordered the United States Navy to design "maximum battleships," the largest battleships that they could use. The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... Seal of the Senate The United States Senate is one of the two houses of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. ... 1894 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1907 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1913 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1902 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... The maximum battleships, also known as the Tillman Battleships were a series of World War I-era design studies for extremely large battleships, prepared in late 1916 and early 1917 to the order of Senator Pitchfork Benjamin Tillman. ...

Statue of Ben Tillman
Statehouse grounds
Columbia, South Carolina

Tillman died in Washington, DC and is buried in Ebenezer Cemetery, Trenton, South Carolina. Download high resolution version (1000x1761, 1736 KB)Ben Tillman statue on SC statehouse grounds Image copyleft: Image taken by me, released under GFDL, Pollinator 04:53, Dec 31, 2004 (UTC) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1000x1761, 1736 KB)Ben Tillman statue on SC statehouse grounds Image copyleft: Image taken by me, released under GFDL, Pollinator 04:53, Dec 31, 2004 (UTC) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... Trenton is a town located in Edgefield County, South Carolina. ...

He was one of the most outspoken and unapologetic advocates of racism ever to serve in Congress. A Black person drinks out of a water foutain designated for black people in 1939 at a streetcar terminal. ...

External link

• "Their own Hotheadedness": Tillman speech in Senate advocating disenfranchisement of blacks and lynching of those who protested