Benjamin Franklin Burkitt (July 5, 1843 – November 18, 1914) was an American newspaper editor and politician from the state of Mississippi.

Burkitt served in the 9th Battalion Tennessee Cavalry of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

[1][2] Burkitt began his political career when he was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1885, serving four terms.

[6] He ran for Governor of Mississippi in the 1895 gubernatorial election, losing to Democrat Anselm J. McLaurin and receiving 28% of the vote.

[8] Burkitt married Mattie Schrimsher on December 30, 1866, and they had four children: Jennie Lee Cary, James Howell, Mary Louise King, and Bennie Dossett.