View source for John S. Little

{{short description|American politician (1851-1916)}}
{{other people|John Little}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = John Sebastian Little
|image = AR Little John.jpg
|order = 21st
|office = Governor of Arkansas
|term_start = {{Start date|1907|01|18}}
|term_end = {{End date|1907|02|15}}
|lieutenant =
|predecessor = [[Jeff Davis (Arkansas governor)|Jeff Davis]]
|successor = [[John Isaac Moore]] (acting)
|state2 = [[Arkansas]]
|district2 = [[Arkansas's 4th congressional district|4th]]
|term_start2 = March 4, 1903
|term_end2 = January 14, 1907
|predecessor2 = [[Charles C. Reid]]
|successor2 = [[William B. Cravens]]
|state3 = Arkansas
|district3 = [[Arkansas's 2nd congressional district|2nd]]
|term_start3 = December 3, 1894
|term_end3 = March 3, 1903
|predecessor3 = [[Clifton R. Breckinridge]]
|successor3 = [[Stephen Brundidge, Jr.]]
|office4 = Member of the [[Arkansas House of Representatives]]
|term4= 1884-1886
|birth_date = March 15, 1851
|birth_place = [[Jenny Lind, Arkansas]], U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|1916|10|29|1851|3|15}}
|death_place = [[Little Rock, Arkansas]], U.S.
|party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse = Elizabeth Jane Irwin (1861–1953) 
|profession =
}}
'''John Sebastian Little''' (March 15, 1851 – October 29, 1916) was an American politician who served as a member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] and briefly as, before having a nervous breakdown and resigning, the 21st [[governor of Arkansas]].

==Biography==
John Sebastian "Bass" Little was born in [[Jenny Lind, Arkansas|Jenny Lind]] in [[Sebastian County, Arkansas]], the son of Jesse Eaton Little and Mary Elizabeth (Tatum) Little, and grandson of Eaton Tatum and Charlotte Bruer (Reynolds) Tatum. Little attended [[Cane Hill College]] in [[Washington County, Arkansas|Washington County]] for one term.

Little taught school and studied law. He was admitted to the Arkansas bar in 1873, and in 1876 he was elected prosecuting attorney of the 12th Judicial District. He served in that position until 1882.

Little married Elizabeth Jane Irwin on January 4, 1877, in [[Paris, Arkansas]].

==Career==
Little served in the [[Arkansas House of Representatives]] in 1884, and in 1886 was appointed judge in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit and served for four years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldstatehouse.com/exhibits/virtual/governors/the_progressive_era/little.aspx|title=John Sebastian Little(1907)|publisher=Old State House Museum|access-date=August 17, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114101824/http://www.oldstatehouse.com/exhibits/virtual/governors/the_progressive_era/little.aspx|archive-date=November 14, 2012}}</ref>

In 1894 he was elected to fill the unexpired term of U.S. Representative [[Clifton R. Breckinridge]].<ref name="cd">{{cite web |title=S. Doc. 58-1 - Fifty-eighth Congress. (Extraordinary session -- beginning November 9, 1903.) Official Congressional Directory for the use of the United States Congress. Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by A.J. Halford. Special edition. Corrections made to November 5, 1903 |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/SERIALSET-04562_00_00-001-0001-0000 |website=GovInfo.gov |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |access-date=2 July 2023 |page=5 |date=9 November 1903}}</ref> He served in the [[United States House of Representatives]] until 1907 when he resigned his seat to take office as Governor of Arkansas.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_arkansas/col2-content/main-content-list/title_little_john.html|title=Arkansas Governor John Sebastian Little|publisher= National Governors Association |access-date=August 17, 2012}}</ref>

Little was inaugurated in January 1907, and shortly thereafter suffered a nervous breakdown which left him unable to execute his political duties. He was succeeded by the [[President of the Arkansas Senate]], [[John Isaac Moore]].

==Death==
[[File:Bass Little bust.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Bust of Little on the grounds of the South Sebastian County Historical Society Museum]]
Little left Arkansas and went to the Texas gulf coast in an effort to rehabilitate. Little never recovered and died in [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]], in the [[Arkansas State Hospital for Nervous Disorders]]. He is buried at the City Cemetery in [[Greenwood, Arkansas|Greenwood]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Congbio|L000352}}
* Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry: [http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=112 John Sebastian Little]

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Jeff Davis (Arkansas governor)|Jeff Davis]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[List of Governors of Arkansas|Governor of Arkansas]]|years=1906}}
{{s-aft|after=[[George Washington Donaghey]]}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{US House succession box|
state=Arkansas|district=2|before=[[Clifton R. Breckinridge]]|years=1894–1903|after=[[Stephen Brundidge, Jr.]]
}}
{{US House succession box|
state=Arkansas|district=4|before=[[Charles C. Reid]]|years=1903–1907|after=[[William B. Cravens]]
}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box
|title=[[List of Governors of Arkansas|Governor of Arkansas]]
| years = 1907
| before = [[Jeff Davis (Arkansas governor)|Jeff Davis]]
| after = [[John Isaac Moore]] <br /> Acting Governor
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Arkansas}}
{{U.S. Arkansas Representatives}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, John Sebastian}}
[[Category:Democratic Party governors of Arkansas]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives]]
[[Category:1851 births]]
[[Category:1916 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Sebastian County, Arkansas]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas]]
[[Category:20th-century Arkansas politicians]]
[[Category:19th-century United States representatives]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly]]