Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. (March 23, 1938 – June 23, 2003) was an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and the first African-American and youngest mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. He served three terms; two consecutive terms from 1974 until 1982 and a third term from 1990 to 1994. Under Jackson’s leadership, Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport was rebuilt to modern standards and was renamed Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in his honor shortly after his death. Especially noteworthy was Jackson’s guidance and direction in the construction of the airport, which was completed ahead of schedule and under budget.
In 1992, Jackson founded the Maynard Jackson Youth Foundation, Inc., a multi-focused leadership program teaching disadvantaged 11th grade students in Atlanta, for which he actively served as chairman and principal teacher. Born in Dallas and raised in Atlanta, Jackson worked his way through school as a waiter, tobacco picker and librarian as well as an encyclopedia national sales trainer and salesman. Maynard Jackson's grandfather was civil rights leader, John Wesley Dobbs. His mother, Irene Dobbs Jackson, was professor of French at Spelman College. Jackson graduated from Morehouse College in 1956 when he was only eighteen. He earned his B.A. in Political Science and History from Morehouse, and his Juris Doctor cum laude from the School of Law at North Carolina Central University in 1964. Jackson was a recipient of eight honorary degrees, a former visitor of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a Chubb Fellow at Yale University. He was married to Valerie Josephine Richardson Jackson and was the father of four daughters and one son. Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. died unexpectedly on June 23, 2003.