Rufus E. Lester

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Rufus Ezekiel Lester
Rufus Ezekiel Lester taken by C. M. Bell Studios
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 1st district
In office March 4, 1889 – June 16, 1906
Preceded by	Thomas M. Norwood
Succeeded by	James W. Overstreet
40th Mayor of Savannah, Georgia
In office 1883–1889
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Personal details
Born	(1837-12-12)December 12, 1837 Near Waynesboro, Georgia, U.S.
Died	June 16, 1906(1906-06-16) (aged 68) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Cause of death	Falling through skylight
Resting place	Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Mercer University
Occupation	Attorney

Rufus Ezekiel Lester (December 12, 1837 – June 16, 1906) was a U.S. Representative from Georgia.

Born near Waynesboro, Georgia, Lester graduated from Mercer University, Macon, Georgia, in 1857. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar in Savannah, Georgia, and commenced practice in 1859. He entered the military service of the Confederate States Army in 1861 and served throughout the Civil War. He resumed the practice of law in Savannah. He served as member of the Georgia State Senate in 1870–1879 and served as president of that body during the last three years. He served as mayor of Savannah from 1883–1889.

Lester was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-first and to the eight succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1889 until his death in Washington, D.C., on June 16, 1906. He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of State (Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses).

He died after an accident in which he fell through a skylight on the roof of The Cairo, the Washington, D.C. apartment building where he resided.^[1] Lester went to the roof to look for his two young grandchildren and apparently missed his footing, fell about 30 feet through the skylight, and landed on the building's eleventh floor.^[1] He broke both legs and sustained internal injuries which proved fatal.^[2]

Headstone at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah

He was interred at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia.^[3]

Frontispiece of 1907's Rufus Ezekiel Lester, Late a Representative.

See also[]

• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49)

References[]

External links[]

• United States Congress. "Rufus E. Lester (id: L000255)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• United States House of Representatives (1907). Rufus Ezekiel Lester, Late a Representative. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.