Sixty Rayburn
Birth nameBenjamin Burras Rayburn
Birth dateAugust 11, 1916
Birth placeSumrall, Mississippi, U.S.
Death dateMarch 5, 2008 (aged 91)
Death placeCovington, Louisiana, U.S.
Office 1Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Term start 11948
Term end 11951
Preceded 1Murphy R. Williams
Succeeded 1N. L. Smith
Office 2Member of the Louisiana State Senate from the 12th district
Term start 21951
Term end 21996
Preceded 2H. H. Richardson
Succeeded 2Phil Short
PartyDemocratic

Benjamin Burras Rayburn (August 11, 1916 – March 5, 2008) was an American politician.[1][2][3] A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1948 to 1951 and in the Louisiana State Senate from 1951 to 1996.[4][5]

Life and career

Rayburn was born in Sumrall, Mississippi, the son of Thomas Rayborn and Grace Rawls. He served in the armed forces during World War II, which after his discharge,[6] he served as a member of the Washington Parish Police Jury from 1944 to 1948, at the time being the youngest member of a police jury in Louisiana.[7]

Rayburn served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1948 to 1951.[4] After his service in the House, he then served in the Louisiana State Senate from 1951 to 1996.[5] During his service in the Senate, in 1993, he was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame.[8]

In 2006, the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections renamed the Washington Correctional Institute as the B.B. Rayburn Correctional Center.[9]

Death

Rayburn died on March 5, 2008, from complications of lung cancer, at the St. Tammany Hospital in Covington, Louisiana, at the age of 91.[10][11]

References

  1. ^ "Sen. 'Sixty' Rayburn Political Complexity Says Hometown Paper". Daily World. March 27, 1963. p. 5. Retrieved September 5, 2022. – via Newspapers.com
  2. ^ "'Sixty' Vindicates the Long Boys and Sen. Rayburn's Cynical Candor Tells Story of 'Greenback Politics'". The Times. August 30, 1973. p. 6. Retrieved September 5, 2022. – via Newspapers.com
  3. ^ "'Sixty' Rayburn: He Didn't Stay Accidentally". The Town Talk. June 8, 1977. p. 30. Retrieved September 5, 2022. – via Newspapers.com
  4. ^ "Membership In The Louisiana House Of Representatives 1812 - 2012". David R. Poynter Legislative Research Library. Archived March 31, 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 5, 2022. – via Wayback Machine
  5. ^ McEnany, Arthur (January 2008). "Membership in the Louisiana Senate: 1880 - Present". Louisiana State Senate. Archived December 25, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 5, 2022. – via Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Benjamin Bura Rayburn". U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947. Retrieved June 19, 2025. – via Ancestry.com (subscription required)
  7. ^ "B. B. Rayburn Obituary (1916-2008)". The Advocate. March 7, 2008. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  8. ^ "BJ "Sixty" Rayburn". Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  9. ^ "Mission Statement". Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. Archived January 27, 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 5, 2022. – via Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Former State Senator B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn Dead at 91". WAFB. March 5, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  11. ^ "Former State Senator B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn Laid to Rest". WAFB. March 8, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2022.