Augustus Octavius Bacon
| Augustus Octavius Bacon | |
|---|---|
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United States Senator from Georgia |
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In office March 4, 1895 – February 14, 1914 |
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| Preceded by | Patrick Walsh |
| Succeeded by | William S. West |
| Member of the Georgia House of Representatives | |
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In office 1871–1886 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 20, 1839 Bryan County, Georgia |
| Died | February 14, 1914 (aged 74) Washington, D.C. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education |
University of Georgia University of Georgia School of Law |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States Confederate States
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| Service/branch |
 Confederate States Army
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| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Augustus Octavius Bacon (October 20, 1839 – February 14, 1914) was a U.S. politician. He served as a Democratic Party senator from Georgia.
Augustus Octavius Bacon was born in Bryan County, Georgia. He graduated in 1859 from the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia, and from the University of Georgia School of Law in its inaugural class of graduates in 1860. While at UGA, he was a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society. He once remarked "all the blood in me comes from English ancestors". He considered himself an Anglophile but did not want America to become an Imperial Power along the same lines as Great Britain and was opposed to the Spanish–American War and the subsequent occupation of the Philippines.
He was a soldier in the army of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, and then, after Georgia returned to the United States, he served in the Georgia State House of Representatives from 1871 to 1886, for much of that time as House speaker.
Bacon was elected as one of Georgia's United States Senators in 1894 and was re-elected to three subsequent terms. Bacon held several committee chairmanships (Committee on Engrossed Bills, Committee on Private Land Claims, Committee on Foreign Relations). He served as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate from 1911 to 1913.
While in the Senate, Bacon was one of a number of members of Congress who tried to get "better" streets in Washington, D.C., named after their home states. Although most of these efforts failed, in 1908 Bacon succeeded in having Brightwood Avenue (or Brookeville Pike) renamed Georgia Avenue. The old Georgia Avenue became Potomac Avenue.
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Wikipedia