Russell C. Davis

Russell Carlos Davis (August 13, 1922 – October 16, 1993) was an American politician and the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, from 1969 to 1977. He was a Democrat. Davis had one sister, who was named Mara Maude. He started attending the University of Maryland at the age of 16, but his college career was cut short by World War II. During World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was stationed in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1944. He was a lieutenant by the time he married Catherine Pullen while there, on June 14, 1944. He worked in the insurance agency of his father-in-law, William H. Pullen. Also during his tenure as mayor, he presented the idea for a planetarium, which started construction in 1976 and is named after him. He was an early advocate of moving from the mayor-commissioner form of government to the mayor-council form.