John Fletcher Hanson (November 25, 1840 in Monroe County, Georgia – 1910) was a self-made industrialist who lived in Georgia and helped establish the Georgia School of Technology (later known as the Georgia Institute of Technology). ^[1] The son of a farmer-preacher, Hanson learned about the brick and furniture industries in Barnesville, Georgia. He later moved to Macon, Georgia and started the Bibb Manufacturing Company in 1876; it was a textile company that built and acquired mills, particularly in Columbus, Georgia. ^[2]

In 1881, Hanson became the principal owner of the Macon Telegraph and Messenger, a republican opponent of the democratic Atlanta Constitution. It was reportedly at Hanson's request that Harry Stillwell Edwards composed a March 2, 1882 editorial in the Macon Telegraph that promoted a polytechnic college in the state of Georgia, in order to create a skilled workforce.

Major Hanson was also instrumental in electing Nathaniel E. Harris, another strong proponent of a technical school, to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1882. ^[2] It was Representative (later governor) Harris who introduced a bill in 1882 providing for the establishment of a state technical school, ^[3] which was chartered in 1885 and opened in 1888, and eventually became Georgia Tech. ^{[3] [4]}

Through his connections, Hanson became president of the Central of Georgia Railroad in 1903. ^[2] One of Georgia Tech's residence halls, Hanson Hall, built in 1961, was named in his honor. ^[5] He died in 1910 and is buried in Riverside Cemetery (Macon, Georgia). ^[6]

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