John Netherland Heiskell (November 2, 1872 – December 28, 1972) was the second U.S. Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 to reach the age of 100

Centenarian

A centenarian is a person who is or lives beyond the age of 100 years. Because current average life expectancies across the world are less than 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. Much rarer, a supercentenarian is a person who has lived to the age of 110 or more, something only...

. He served as Senator from Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 for a period of just 23 days, from January 6 to January 29, 1913. He was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the death of then Senator Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Davis (Arkansas governor)

Jefferson Davis , commonly known as Jeff Davis, was a Democratic United States Senator from Arkansas and also served as the 20th Governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas.- Early life :...

 (not to be confused with Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...

, former President of the Confederate States of America

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

).

Heiskell was a publisher by trade. He owned and edited the Arkansas Gazette

Arkansas Gazette

The Arkansas Gazette, known as the oldest newspaper west of the Mississippi River, and located from 1908 until its October 18, 1991 closing at the now historic Gazette Building, was for many years the newspaper of record for Little Rock and the State of Arkansas...

from 1902 until his death. The paper garnered 2 Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

s (one for Meritorious Public Service in 1958) under his editorship. In 1958, Heiskell received the Elijah Parish Lovejoy

Elijah P. Lovejoy

Elijah Parish Lovejoy was an American Presbyterian minister, journalist, newspaper editor and abolitionist. He was murdered by an opposition mob in Alton, Illinois during their attack on his warehouse to destroy his press and abolitionist materials.Lovejoy's father was a Congregational minister...

 Award as well as an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Colby College

Colby College

Colby College is a private liberal arts college located on Mayflower Hill in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the United States...

. He was also President of Gazette Publishing Co..

Despite his short time in the Senate, Heiskell's longevity eventually made him not only the oldest living former Senator, but also the last surviving person to have been a Senator in the 1910s.

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