[1] The son of a farmer-preacher, Hanson learned about the brick and furniture industries in Barnesville, Georgia.
[2] In 1881, Hanson became the principal owner of the Macon Telegraph and Messenger, a Republican opponent of the Democratic Atlanta Constitution.
It was reportedly at Hanson's request that Harry Stillwell Edwards composed a March 2, 1882, editorial in the Macon Telegraph that proposed to create a polytechnic college in Georgia to build a skilled workforce.
Hanson was also instrumental in electing Nathaniel E. Harris, another strong proponent of a technical school, to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1882.
[2] It was Representative (later governor) Harris who introduced a bill in 1882 providing for the establishment of a state technical school,[3] which was chartered in 1885 and opened in 1888, and eventually became Georgia Tech.