In 1882, a 36-year-old lawyer and member of the Georgia House of Representatives from Macon, Nathaniel Harris, introduced legislation to build a technical school in Georgia.
A committee to investigate the concept was formed, and Harris was named chair. In 1883, the committee turned in its report, and the bill went up for a vote and failed. In 1884, the vote was closer, but the bill still failed.
Harris persevered and, in 1885, the bill finally passed, and Nathaniel Harris became the “father of Georgia Tech.” He is credited as saying, “The founding of the Georgia School of Technology I regard as the most important event of a public nature that occurred in my life.”
