Edward Benjamin Cushing, president of the board of regents at Texas A&M University, was born in Houston on November 22, 1863, to Matilda (Burke) and Edward Hopkins Cushing. He married Florence Abbey Powars on February 18, 1888. Cushing entered Texas A&M as a member of its second class in 1877 and graduated in 1880.

After graduating, he worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad in Houston, initially as an axman and rodman. He later advanced to assistant general manager and maintenance-of-way engineer in 1912. In early 1917, Cushing was commissioned as a major and sent overseas as an officer in the Seventeenth Engineers, part of the American Expeditionary Force, where he served on the staff of General John J. Pershing. For his service, he received the French Croix de Guerre.

In 1919, Cushing became a federal bank examiner, and at the time of his death, he served as receiver for the First National Bank in Granger, Texas. He joined the A&M board of directors (now known as the board of regents) in 1912 and became its president in 1913. He also served as president of the Texas A&M Association of Former Students.

Cushing was an active member of the Elks and Masons. He passed away in Houston on February 17, 1924. In recognition of his contributions, the Texas A&M library was named the Cushing Memorial Library on November 23, 1927.