Banks P. Turner 1889-1953

A native of Neboville, Banks P. Turner graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1910 and was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1918. During the ratification debate on the 19th Amendment in August 1920, he surprised everyone by twice opposing a motion to kill the ratification resolution and then supporting the resolution on the final vote. Because the resolution passed by the razor-thin margin of 49 to 47, Turner's decisive action was critical to Tennessee's historic role as the 36th and final state to ratify the 19th Amendment enfranchising 27 million American women. Turner is buried in the Yorkville Cemetery.