William Lowndes Calhoun (November 23, 1837 November 16, 1908) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 attorney and politician from the state of Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 who served as the 26th Mayor of Atlanta.

Biography

Calhoun was born in Decatur, Georgia

Decatur, Georgia

Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name...

, son of fellow Atlanta mayor James Calhoun

James Calhoun

James M. Calhoun was the 16th Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia during the Civil War.Calhoun was born in South Carolina and his parents died when he was 18....

. The family moved to Atlanta in 1852 and, at the age of sixteen, William began reading law

Reading law

Reading law is the method by which persons in common law countries, particularly the United States, entered the legal profession before the advent of law schools. This usage specifically refers to a means of entering the profession . A small number of U.S...

 at his father's firm. He passed the bar in 1857.

In March 1862, Calhoun enlisted in the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 and was commissioned as captain of Company K of the 42nd Georgia Infantry. He served in Knoxville, Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee

Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...

, and then in the Vicksburg Campaign

Vicksburg Campaign

The Vicksburg Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River. The Union Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen....

, where he and his regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 were surrendered by John C. Pemberton

John C. Pemberton

John Clifford Pemberton , was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole Wars and with distinction during the Mexican–American War. He also served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, noted for his defeat and surrender in the critical Siege of Vicksburg in...

 on July 4, 1863. After being exchanged, Calhoun served in the Atlanta Campaign

Atlanta Campaign

The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864. Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning in May...

 and was wounded at the Battle of Resaca

Battle of Resaca

The Battle of Resaca was part of the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle was waged in both Gordon and Whitfield counties, Georgia, from May 13 - 15, 1864. It ended inconclusively with the Confederate Army retreating. The engagement was fought between the Military Division of the...

. After his recovery, he served in the Army of Tennessee

Army of Tennessee

The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating in most of the significant battles in the Western Theater...

 under General Hood

John Bell Hood

John Bell Hood was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood had a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness that sometimes bordered on recklessness...

 in Tennessee.

Returning to Atlanta after the war, he served in the state legislature from 1872 to 1876 and, following in his late father's footsteps, was elected Mayor of Atlanta in 1879. During his term of service, he inaugurated the city's street paving system.

He left his law practice to serve as judge of the Court of Ordinary of Fulton County

Fulton County, Georgia

Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...

from 1881 to 1897.