Overview of his life

William B. Hartsfield (1890-1971) is primarily known for two things. The first was his active support in bringing air transportation to the state. The second was his coinage of the phrase often used to describe Atlanta’s racial tolerance: “the city too busy to hate.” Nevertheless, Hartsfield, who never graduated from high school or college, was significant for other reasons. Primarily he was Atlanta’s longest serving mayor (1937-1941; 1942-1961), and his support of civil rights kept Atlanta from the racial violence that engulfed many other southern cities.