William J. Harris

American politician (1868–1932)

For Illinois architect, see William J. Harris (architect).

William Julius Harris

United States Senator
from Georgia
In office
March 4, 1919 – April 18, 1932
Preceded by| Thomas W. Hardwick
Succeeded by| John S. Cohen
Personal details
Born|

William Julius Harris

(1868-02-03)February 3, 1868
Cedartown, Georgia, U.S.
Died| April 18, 1932(1932-04-18) (aged 64)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party| Democratic
Education| University of Georgia

William Julius Harris (February 3, 1868 - April 18, 1932) was a United States senator from the state of Georgia. He was a great-grandson of Charles Hooks, who had been a Representative from North Carolina, and son-in-law of Joseph Wheeler, Confederate General and Representative from Alabama.

## Early life

[edit]

Harris was born in Cedartown in Polk County, Georgia, and attended the common schools. He graduated from the University of Georgia at Athens in 1890.

He married Julia Knox Hull Wheeler (November 27, 1870 - January 6, 1959), daughter of Joseph Wheeler.

## Career

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He engaged in the general insurance business and banking at Cedartown, Georgia. He served as private secretary to U.S. Senator Alexander S. Clay from 1904 to 1909.

Entering politics, Harris was elected as a Democrat to the Georgia Senate in 1911 and 1912. From 1913 to 1915 he served as appointed Director of the United States Census Bureau; he also served as Acting Secretary of the Department of Commerce from 1913 to 1915. In 1915 he resigned when he was appointed as a member of the Federal Trade Commission.

He was chairman of the FTC 1917-1918. In 1918, he was elected as a Democrat to the US Senate, and reelected in 1924 and 1930. He served in total from March 4, 1919 until his death. While in the Senate, Harris was a member of the National Forest Reservation Commission from 1929 to 1932.

He died of a heart attack in Washington, D.C. Funeral services were held in the Chamber of the United States Senate. His interment was in Greenwood Cemetery in Cedartown.

After Harris' death in 1932, the governor of Georgia, Richard Russell, Jr., declared a special election for September of that year to fill the vacant seat. Russell declared his own candidacy and won the election to replace Harris.

## Personal

[edit]

Harris was the son of physician Dr. Charles Hooks Harris and his wife Margaret Ann (Monk) Harris. He had four brothers and five sisters. Among his brothers were U.S. Army Major General Peter C. Harris and Alabama physician Dr. Seale Harris.[1][2]

On July 28, 1905, Harris married Julia Knox Hull Wheeler in New York City. Their daughter Julia Wheeler Harris was born in 1909.[1][2]

## See also

[edit]

* List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Harris, James Coffee (1911). The Personal and Family History of Charles Hooks and Margaret Monk Harris. J. C. Harris. pp. 9–10, 102–106. Retrieved 2023-11-01.9-10,+102-106&rft.pub=J.+C.+Harris&rft.date=1911&rft.aulast=Harris&rft.aufirst=James+Coffee&rft_id=https://books.google.com/books?id=hbhRAAAAMAAJ&pg;=PA9&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:William+J.+Harris" class="Z3988">
2. ^ a b "Senator W. J. Harris Dies in Washington: Georgian Succumbs at 64 to Long Illness—Won Seat in 1918 Battle for Wilson" (PDF). The New York Times. April 19, 1932. p. 21. Retrieved 2023-11-01.

* Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, 2002, Robert A. Caro, p. 174 ISBN 978-0-394-72095-1

* United States Congress. "William J. Harris (id: H000259)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to William Julius Harris at Wikimedia Commons

Party political offices

Preceded by

Thomas W. Hardwick

|  Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Georgia
(Class 2)
1918, 1924, 1930 | Succeeded by

Richard Russell Jr.

Political offices
Preceded by

Edward Dana Durand

|  Director of the United States Census Bureau
1913 - 1915  | Succeeded by

Samuel Lyle Rogers

U.S. Senate
Preceded by

Thomas W. Hardwick

|  U.S. senator (Class 2) from Georgia
1919-1932
Served alongside: M. Hoke Smith, Thomas E. Watson, Rebecca Latimer Felton and Walter F. George | Succeeded by

John S. Cohen

* v
* t
* e

United States senators from Georgia

Class 2|

* Few
* Jackson
* Walton
* Tattnall
* Baldwin
* Jones
* Crawford
* Bulloch
* Bibb
* Troup
* Forsyth
* Walker
* Ware
* Cobb
* Prince
* Troup
* King
* Lumpkin
* Berrien
* Charlton
* Toombs
* H. Miller
* Norwood
* B. Hill
* Barrow
* A. Colquitt
* Walsh
* Bacon
* West
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* Harris
* Cohen
* Russell
* Gambrell
* Nunn
* Cleland
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Class 3|

* Gunn
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* Cuthbert
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* Johnson
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* Felton
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* Coverdell
* Z. Miller
* Isakson
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* Warnock

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Democratic Party of Georgia

Chairs|

* Thomas Hardeman Jr. (1872)
* L. N. Trammell (1880)
* Charles F. Clay (1883–)
* B. H. Bigham (1886)
* Hoke Smith (1888)
* William Yates Atkinson (1890–1892)
* Allen Fort (1892–1894)
* Alexander Stephens Clay (1894–1898)
* Fleming W. Dubignon (1898–1900)
* E. T. Brown (1902–1904)
* E. J. Yeomans (1904–1906)
* Alexander Lawton Miller (1906–1908)
* Hewlett A. Hall (1908–1909)
* Charles R. Pendleton (1909–1910)
* W. C. Wright (1910–1912)
* William J. Harris (1912–1913)
* William S. West (1913–1914)
* E. J. Reagan (1914–1916)
* John James Flynt Sr. (1916–1920)
* William Jerome Vereen (1920–1921)
* G. E. Maddox 1925–30
* Lawrence S. Camp 1930–32
* Hugh Howell (c. 1935–1937)
* Charles S. Reid 1937
* Jim L. Gillis 1939
* William Y. Atkinson Jr. 1942
* J. Lon Duckworth (1943–1946)
* James S. Peters (1948–1954)
* John Sammons Bell (1954–1960)
* J. B. Fuqua (1962–1966)
* James Gray (1966–1970)
* David H. Gambrell (1970–1972)
* Charles Kirbo (1972–1974)
* Marge Thurman (1974–1982)
* Al Holloway (Interim Chairman, 1982)
* Bert Lance (1982–1986)
* John Henry Anderson (1986–1990)
* Ed Sims (1990–1994)
* John Blackmon (1994–1998)
* David Worley (1998–2001)
* Calvin Smyre (2001–2004)
* Bobby Kahn (2004–2007)
* Jane Kidd (2007–2010)
* Mike Berlon (2011–2013)
* Nikema Williams (acting, 2013)
* DuBose Porter (2013–2019)
* Nikema Williams (2019–2025)
* Matthew Wilson (acting, 2025–present)

House Leaders|

* George Busbee
* Clarence Vaughn
* Al Burruss
* Larry Walker Jr.
* Jimmy Skipper
* DuBose Porter
* Stacey Abrams
* Bob Trammell
* James Beverly
* Carolyn Hugley

Senate Leaders|

* John R. Riley
* Thomas F. Allgood
* Charles Walker
* Michael Meyer von Bremen
* Robert Brown
* Steve Henson
* Gloria Butler
* Harold V. Jones II

Presidential primaries|

* 2004
* 2008
* 2016
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Other|

* 1988 Democratic National Convention

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
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National|

* United States
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Artists|

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People|

* US Congress

Other|

* NARA
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* v
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Chairs of the Federal Trade Commission

Member-selected
(1915–1950)|

* Joseph E. Davies (1915–1916) • Edward N. Hurley (1916–1917) • William J. Harris (1917–1918) • William Byron Colver (1918–1919) • John Franklin Fort (1919) • Victor Murdock (1919–1920) • Samuel Huston Thompson (1920–1921) • Nelson B. Gaskill (1921–1922) • Victor Murdock (1922–1923) • Samuel Huston Thompson (1923–1924) • Vernon W. Van Fleet (1924–1925) • John F. Nugent (1925–1926) • Charles W. Hunt (1926–1927) • William E. Humphrey (1927–1928) • Abram F. Myers (1928–1929) • Edgar A. McCulloch (1929) • Garland Ferguson Jr. (1930) • Charles W. Hunt (1931) • William E. Humphrey (1932) • Charles H. March (1933) • Garland Ferguson Jr. (1934) • Ewin L. Davis (1935) • Charles H. March (1936) • William Augustus Ayres (1937) • Garland Ferguson Jr. (1938) • Robert E. Freer (1939) • Ewin L. Davis (1940) • Charles H. March (1941) • William Augustus Ayres (1942) • Garland Ferguson Jr. (1943) • Robert E. Freer (1944) • Ewin L. Davis (1945) • William Augustus Ayres (1946) • Garland Ferguson Jr. (1947) • Robert E. Freer (1948) • Lowell B. Mason (1949–1950)

Presidential appointments
(1950–present)
Acting chairs italicized|

* James M. Mead (1950–1953) • Edward F. Howrey (1953–1955) • John W. Gwynne (1955–1959) • Earl W. Kintner (1959–1961) • Paul Rand Dixon (1961–1969) • Caspar Weinberger (1970–1970) • Everette MacIntyre (1970–1973) • Lewis A. Engman (1973–1975) • Paul Rand Dixon (1976) • Calvin J. Collier (1976–1977) • Michael Pertschuk (1977–1981) • David A. Clanton (1981) • James C. Miller III (1981–1985) • Terry Calvani (1985–1986) • Daniel Oliver (1986–1989) • Janet Dempsey Steiger (1989–1995) • Robert Pitofsky (1995–2001) • Timothy Muris (2001–2004) • Deborah Platt Majoras (2004–2008) • William Kovacic (2008–2009) • Jon Leibowitz (2009–2013) • Edith Ramirez (2013–2017) • Maureen Ohlhausen (2017–2018) • Joseph Simons (2018–2021) • Rebecca Slaughter (2021) • Lina Khan (2021–2025) • Andrew N. Ferguson (2025–present)

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