Benjamin Muse

Benjamin Muse
Member of the Virginia Senate
from the 8th district
In office
January 8, 1936 – September 11, 1936
Preceded byRobert Gilliam Jr.
Succeeded byMorton G. Goode
Personal details
Born
Benjamin Muse

(1898-04-17)April 17, 1898
Durham, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedMay 4, 1986(1986-05-04) (aged 88)
Reston, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Other political
affiliations
Democratic (before 1936)
SpouseBeatriz de Regil
Alma materTrinity College
George Washington University
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
 United States
Branch/serviceBritish Army
United States Army
Years of service1917–1919
1942–1944
RankLieutenant colonel
UnitKing's Royal Rifle Corps
Adjutant General's Corps
Battles/warsFirst World War
Second World War

Benjamin Muse (April 17, 1898 – May 4, 1986) was an American lawyer, soldier, diplomat, farmer, newspaper publisher, author and politician. He briefly served as a member of the Virginia Senate (switching allegiances from the Democratic to the Republican Party and was defeated when he ran as an Independent for the Petersburg, Virginia seat; he resigned as a result of that switch). In 1941 Muse, running as the Republican candidate for Governor of Virginia, lost overwhelmingly to Democrat Colgate Darden, a member of the state's Byrd Organization. Later, Muse lived in Manassas, Virginia, from where he opposed and chronicled the Massive Resistance crisis fostered by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd and Richmond newspaperman James J. Kilpatrick as they fomented opposition to the United States Supreme Court decisions in Brown v. Board of Education which overturned racial segregation in public schools.[1][2]

  1. ^ "Muse, Benjamin (1898–1986) – Encyclopedia Virginia".
  2. ^ J.Y. Smith, Benjamin Muse Dies at 87in Washington Post obituary, May 6, 1986 at p. B6