Ben C. Henley

Q: When did Ben C. Henley die?

Ben C. Henley died on November 7, 1987.

Q: How old was Ben C. Henley when they died?

Ben C. Henley was 80 years old at the time of death.

Q: When was Ben C. Henley born?

Ben C. Henley was born on October 7, 1907 in St. Joe.

Benjamin Charles Henley (October 7, 1907 – November 25, 1987) was an American lawyer and businessman from Harrison in Boone County in northwestern Arkansas, who was the chairman of his state's Republican Party from 1955 to 1962.

Biography

He graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville. He tutored an aunt by marriage, Mary Elizabeth Smith Massey (1900–1971), in the study of law. Massey became one of the first women lawyers in Arkansas. In 1934, she ran on the Republican ticket for county/circuit clerk in Henley's native Searcy County, was elected, and served three terms in the position. As an appointed city attorney in 1935, she developed the blueprint for the water city system in Marshall, Arkansas, and campaigned for a bond issue to finance the project.

As the state party chairman, Henley was a delegate to the 1956 and the 1960 Republican national conventions held in San Francisco and Chicago, respectively. In 1956, as his party's unsuccessful nominee for the United States Senate against the Democrat J. William Fulbright, Henley finished with 17 percent of the vote, well behind his party's presidential nominee, Dwight D. Eisenhower, who still lost Arkansas in the second race against Adlai E. Stevenson, II, of Illinois. Henley did not actively campaign against the politically entrenched Fulbright, who instead was out of state working for the Stevenson campaign, which was managed by the Arkansas journalist Harry S. Ashmore. Fulbright received 331,679 votes to Henley's 68,016.

In addition to his legal practice, Henley was part-owner, with later Harrison Mayor Bob Reynolds, of Walters Dry Goods Company at the intersection of Main and Stephenson streets in Harrison, the only local dealer of Levi's jeans. In May 1961, the store was completely flooded by heavy rains, and virtually all of the mud-soaked merchandise was lost. The facility, which carried no flood insurance, was refurbished through a loan from the Small Business Administration. Walters has since passed into history, and another business, Leflers, moved into that location.

Henley's younger brother, Jesse Smith Henley, was a long-term judge of the U.S. district and Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit for whom the federal building in Harrison is named.^{[citation needed]}

Ben C. Henley

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1.On what date was Benjamin Charles Henley born?

2.In which city and county did Benjamin Charles Henley reside in northwestern Arkansas?

3.Where did Benjamin Charles Henley earn his law degree?

4.Which family member did Benjamin Charles Henley tutor in the study of law?

5.What role did Benjamin Charles Henley hold in the Republican Party from 1955 to 1962?

6.At which city was the 1956 Republican National Convention held, which Benjamin Charles Henley attended as a delegate?

7.Who was Benjamin Charles Henley's opponent in the 1956 United States Senate election?

8.What percentage of the vote did Benjamin Charles Henley receive in the 1956 Senate race?

9.Who managed the campaign for Adlai E. Stevenson, II during the 1956 election cycle?

10.What was the name of the business that Benjamin Charles Henley part-owned in Harrison?

11.Who was Benjamin Charles Henley's business partner at the Walters Dry Goods Company?

12.What event caused the destruction of the merchandise at Walters Dry Goods Company in May 1961?

13.How was the refurbishment of the flooded Walters Dry Goods Company facility financed?

14.What is the name of Benjamin Charles Henley's younger brother who served as a judge?

15.In the context of the career of Mary Elizabeth Smith Massey, what was her 1935 appointment?

16.On what date did Benjamin Charles Henley die?

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