William Berry Hartsfield Sr. (March 1, 1890 – February 22, 1971), was an American politician who served as the 49th and 51st Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia.

[1] The man who defeated Hartsfield, Roy LeCraw, served just one year as mayor, before being called up as a reservist in the United States Army Air Force.

The dam helped create a source of water, Lake Lanier for the Atlanta metropolitan area.

[3] The New York Times called Hartsfield a "racial moderate," highlighting his slogan "Atlanta is a city too busy to hate", which he often repeated during the civil rights struggles of the 1950s.

[1] In 1957, he won election to his last term as mayor by defeating the staunch segregationist and future Governor Lester Maddox.