Appalachian Figures
A Harlan County beginning
Elbert Benjamin “E. B.” Smith was born in Benham, Kentucky, on May 1, 1921, the son of Elbert and Gladys Smith. Benham was a young company town in Harlan County when Smith arrived, and like many Appalachian families of his generation his early years unfolded in a landscape shaped by coal and community churches. The Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics keeps certified birth records statewide from 1911 forward, which includes Smith’s 1921 Benham birth.
Smith earned his B.A. from Maryville College in Tennessee, then served during World War II as a Navy deck officer before returning to graduate study at the University of Chicago, where he completed the M.A. in 1947 and the Ph.D. in 1949. An obituary from the Washington Post and a memorial notice by the American Historical Association both confirm these core details and his lifelong identification as a Kentuckian by birth.
Teacher, writer, and a voice on the presidents
After early appointments at Youngstown University and Iowa State University, Smith joined the University of Wisconsin and later the University of Maryland, where he became professor emeritus. His scholarship focused on antebellum politics and the early Whig presidents. Among his best-known books are The Death of Slavery: The United States, 1837–65 from the University of Chicago Press, Francis Preston Blair: A Biography from Free Press, and The Presidencies of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore from the University Press of Kansas.
Smith also brought his research to broad audiences. On May 31, 1999, C-SPAN’s American Presidents: Life Portraits featured him discussing Zachary Taylor’s life and administration, a rare televised appearance by a historian raised in Harlan County.
Two statewide campaigns far from home
In 1962 Smith stepped from the classroom into Iowa politics. The official canvass from the Iowa Secretary of State lists “E. B. Smith, Ames” as the Democratic nominee for United States Senator following the June primary. He went on to face three-term Republican incumbent Bourke B. Hickenlooper in the November general election. The House Clerk’s national compilation records the final statewide totals: Hickenlooper 431,364, Smith 376,602.
Smith returned to the ballot four years later. In 1966 the official national returns again show “E. B. Smith, Democrat” as the party’s U.S. Senate nominee against Republican Jack Miller, with Miller prevailing 522,389 to 324,114.
Those Iowa campaigns mattered to people who would shape national policy. In a Senate floor tribute after Smith’s death, Senator Tom Harkin recalled working on Smith’s 1962 effort as a young activist, calling him a mentor who taught that public life should serve principle before victory.
Fulbright leadership and international work
Beyond the classroom and the campaign trail, Smith helped steer American academic exchange. The Fulbright Association lists him as its national president in 1989, and association newsletters from that year highlight his activities in the role. That leadership capped decades of international teaching and Fulbright engagement.
Final years and legacy
Smith died on April 30, 2013, in Maryland, one day before his ninety-third birthday. The official notice from Rausch Funeral Home, along with press obituaries, records his passing and summarizes a life that bridged mountain roots and national reach, family and public service, scholarship and citizenship.
For Appalachian history, Smith’s story is a reminder that the coal camps and crossroads of Harlan County produced not only miners and music, but scholars whose work shaped how the country remembers its presidents and its past.
Sources and further reading
Iowa Secretary of State, Official Canvass of the Primary, June 4, 1962. Lists E. B. Smith as Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. Iowa Secretary of State
U.S. House of Representatives, Statistics of the Congressional and Presidential Election of November 6, 1962. Official national results for Iowa U.S. Senate. See “IOWA.” Clerk of the House
U.S. House of Representatives, Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1966. Official national results for Iowa U.S. Senate. See “IOWA.” Clerk of the House
Congressional Record, May 21, 2013. Sen. Tom Harkin, “Remembering Dr. Elbert B. Smith.” Congress.gov
C-SPAN, American Presidents: Life Portrait of Zachary Taylor (May 31, 1999), featuring E. B. Smith; C-SPAN person page. C-SPAN+1
Fulbright Association, “Board and Past Presidents”; 1989 newsletters noting Smith as president. Fulbright.org+1
Rausch Funeral Home, official death notice for Elbert B. Smith. Rausch Funeral Homes
Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Office of Vital Statistics. Birth records available statewide from 1911 onward, including 1921 Benham births. Cabinet for Health and Family Services
American Historical Association, Perspectives on History (Sept. 2014), “Elbert B. Smith (1921–2013)”. Memorial biography noting Benham birth, Maryville degree, and career. AHA
The Washington Post obituary, May 7, 2013. Career summary and personal details. The Washington Post
History News Network, “Remembering Elbert B. Smith,” by Sen. Tom Harkin (May 23, 2013). Adapted from the Congressional Record. History News Network
University Press of Kansas, The Presidencies of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore (book page). University Press of Kansas
University of Chicago Press listing via Google Books, The Death of Slavery: The United States, 1837–65. Google Books
Free Press listing via Google Books, Francis Preston Blair: A Biography. Google Books
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