John Basil Lamar

John Basil Lamar (November 5, 1812 – September 15, 1862) was an American politician, lawyer, and planter.

Biography Lamar was born in Milledgeville, Georgia. He attended the Franklin College, which later became the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, beginning in 1827 but did not graduate. In 1830, he moved to a plantation near Macon, Georgia, and became a successful planter. He owned holdings in fourteen Georgia counties and in Florida. In 1837 and 1838, Lamar served in the Georgia House of Representatives. He was elected in 1842 to represent Georgia in the United States House of Representatives during the 28th Congress; however, his service was brief as he resigned and left office on July 29, 1843, after taking office only months before on March 4, 1843.

After his resignation in 1843, Lamar returned to his agricultural pursuits. In 1851, some of his literary work was published in Polly Peablossom's Wedding (1851), edited by T. A. Burke. He has and had a significant reputation for his humorous writings, and was a founder and practitioner of both the school of Realism in America and genre of Southern Humor. From 1855 to 1858, he served on the UGA board of trustees and served at the state convention which passed the Ordinance of Secession in 1861.