Russell C. Davis (politician)

Russell Carlos Davis was born on August 13, 1922, in Rockville, Maryland, to Roy E. Davis (1890–1937), a landscaper.[4][6][7][8] Davis had one sister, who was named Mara Maude.[8][6] Russell Davis attended and graduated from Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland.[9] He started attending the University of Maryland at the age of 16, but his college career was cut short by World War II.[10] During World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was stationed in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1944. He was a lieutenant by the time he married Catherine Pullen while there, on June 14, 1944.[11][5][12][13] He worked in the insurance agency of his father-in-law, William H. Pullen.[5]

He was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1959,[5] representing Hinds County. He ran three times: first term unopposed, second opposed, and third unopposed, and served from 1960 until becoming the mayor of Jackson.[5] He became the mayor of Jackson on July 7, 1969, succeeding longtime mayor Allen Thompson.[14][5] The Jackson State killings also occurred during his tenure in 1970.[15] Also during his tenure as mayor, he presented the idea for a planetarium, which started construction in 1976 and is named after him.[16] He was an early advocate of moving from the mayor-commissioner form of government to the mayor-council form.[4] Mayor-council form was initiated after 1985. He stopped being mayor in 1977.[9] In 1981, he tried running for a third term, but lost the nomination bid to Dale Danks.[11] He died of cancer on October 16, 1993.[17][4]