{{Short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = William A. Dawson | image = William A. Dawson.jpg | birth_date = {{Birth date|1903|11|05}} | birth_place = [[Layton, Utah]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1981|11|07|1903|11|05}} | death_place = [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]] | state1 = [[Utah]] | district1 = [[Utah's 2nd congressional district|2nd]] | term_start1 = January 3, 1947 | term_end1 = January 3, 1949 | preceded1 = [[J. W. Robinson]] | succeeded1 = [[Reva B. Bosone]] | term_start2 = January 3, 1953 | term_end2 = January 3, 1959 | preceded2 = [[Reva B. Bosone]] | succeeded2 = [[David S. King]] | resting_place = Kaysville Cemetery, [[Kaysville, Utah]] | office3 = Member of the [[Utah Senate]] | term3 = 1940–1944 | party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] | alma_mater = [[University of Utah]] | profession = Lawyer }}
<!-- This article was automatically created by [[User:polbot]] from http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000155. The prose may be stilted, and there may be grammatical and Wikification errors. Please improve in any way you see fit. -->'''William Adams Dawson''' (November 5, 1903 – November 7, 1981) was a [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] from [[Utah]].
== Biography == Born in [[Layton, Utah]], Dawson attended the public schools. He graduated from the law department of the [[University of Utah]] in 1926. He was [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted to the bar]] the same year and commenced practice in [[Salt Lake City]], and was [[County attorney]] of Davis County from 1926 to 1934, and mayor of Layton 1935–1939. He served as member of the [[Utah State Senate]] from 1940 to 1944.
===Congress === Dawson was elected as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] to the [[80th United States Congress|Eightieth]] Congress (January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949), defeating a seven-term [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1948 to the [[81st United States Congress|Eighty-first]] Congress. In 1950 he sought nomination for the [[United States Senate]], but placed fourth in the nominating convention.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 11, 1950 |title=Salt Lake Tribune}}</ref>
Dawson was elected to the [[83rd United States Congress|Eighty-third]], replacing the woman who had unseated him in 1948, and reelected to the [[84th United States Congress|Eighty-fourth]] and [[85th United States Congress|Eighty-fifth]] Congresses (January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1959). Dawson voted in favor of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1957]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/h42|title=HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref> He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1958 to the [[86th United States Congress|Eighty-sixth]] Congress.
Legislatively, Dawson served on the [[United States House Committee on Natural Resources|Interior and Insular Affairs Committee]] and sponsored three laws in that field. One failure was a proposal to build a storage project on the upper [[Colorado River]]. House Speaker [[Joseph W. Martin, Jr.]] pulled the bill in 1954 as too controversial, but the [[Glen Canyon Dam|Glen Canyon project]] was approved by the following Democratic congress.
=== Later career and death === He served as vice president of Zions First National Bank from 1959 to 1969. He was a resident of [[Salt Lake City, Utah]], until his death on November 7, 1981. He was interred in Kaysville Cemetery, [[Kaysville, Utah]].
== Electoral results == {{Election box begin no change | title= [[1946 United States House of Representatives elections]]<ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1946election.pdf 1946 Election Results]</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | party = Republican Party (US) | candidate = [[William A. Dawson]] | votes = 56,402 | percentage = 52.71 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Democratic Party (US) | candidate = [[J. W. Robinson]] (Incumbent) | votes = 50,598 | percentage = 47.29 }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 107,000 | percentage = 100.0 }} {{Election box gain with party link without swing | winner = Republican Party (US) | loser = Democratic Party (US) }} {{End}} {{Election box begin no change | title= [[1948 United States House of Representatives elections]]<ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1948election.pdf 1948 Election Results]</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | party = Democratic Party (US) | candidate = [[Reva Beck Bosone]] | votes = 92,770 | percentage = 57.46 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Republican Party (US) | candidate = [[William A. Dawson]] (Incumbent) | votes = 68,693 | percentage = 42.54 }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 161,463 | percentage = 100.0 }} {{Election box gain with party link without swing | winner = Democratic Party (US) | loser = Republican Party (US) }} {{End}} {{Election box begin no change | title= [[1952 United States House of Representatives elections]]<ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1952election.pdf 1952 Election Results]</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | party = Republican Party (US) | candidate = [[William A. Dawson]] | votes = 105,296 | percentage = 52.55 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Democratic Party (US) | candidate = [[Reva Beck Bosone]] (Incumbent) | votes = 95,084 | percentage = 47.45 }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 200,380 | percentage = 100.0 }} {{Election box gain with party link without swing | winner = Republican Party (US) | loser = Democratic Party (US) }} {{End}} {{Election box begin no change | title= [[1954 United States House of Representatives elections]]<ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1954election.pdf 1954 Election Results]</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | party = Republican Party (US) | candidate = [[William A. Dawson]] (Incumbent) | votes = 90,864 | percentage = 57.16 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Democratic Party (US) | candidate = [[Reva Beck Bosone]] | votes = 68,090 | percentage = 42.84 }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 158,954 | percentage = 100.0 }} {{Election box hold with party link without swing | winner = Republican Party (US) }} {{End}} {{Election box begin no change | title= [[1956 United States House of Representatives elections]]<ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1956election.pdf 1956 Election Results]</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | party = Republican Party (US) | candidate = [[William A. Dawson]] (Incumbent) | votes = 119,683 | percentage = 57.64 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Democratic Party (US) | candidate = [[Oscar W. McConkie Jr.]] | votes = 87,970 | percentage = 42.36 }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 207,653 | percentage = 100.0 }} {{Election box hold with party link without swing | winner = Republican Party (US) }} {{End}} {{Election box begin no change | title= [[1958 United States House of Representatives elections]]<ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1958election.pdf 1958 Election Results]</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | party = Democratic Party (US) | candidate = [[David S. King]] | votes = 91,213 | percentage = 51.11 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Republican Party (US) | candidate = [[William A. Dawson]] (Incumbent) | votes = 87,234 | percentage = 48.89 }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 178,447 | percentage = 100.0 }} {{Election box gain with party link without swing | winner = Democratic Party (US) | loser = Republican Party (US) }} {{End}}
==References== {{reflist}} {{CongBio|D000155}}
==Further reading== * (1994) [https://web.archive.org/web/20240321165041/https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/d/DAWSON_WILLIAM.shtml "Dawson, William Adams"] article in the [https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/ ''Utah History Encyclopedia''.] The article was written by Doris F. Salmon and the Encyclopedia was published by the University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874804256. Archived from [https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/d/DAWSON_WILLIAM.shtml the original] on March 21, 2024 and retrieved on April 13, 2024.
==External links== * {{Internet Archive film clip|id=gov.archives.arc.95893|description="Longines Chronoscope with William A. Dawson"}}
{{Bioguide}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Utah | district=2 | before= [[J. W. Robinson]] | years=1947–1949 | after=[[Reva B. Bosone]] }} {{US House succession box | state=Utah | district=2 | before= [[Reva B. Bosone]] | years=1953–1959 | after=[[David S. King]] }} {{s-end}}
{{UtahUSRepresenatives}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, William Adams}} [[Category:1903 births]] [[Category:1981 deaths]] [[Category:Mayors of places in Utah]] [[Category:People from Layton, Utah]] [[Category:Politicians from Salt Lake City]] [[Category:Republican Party United States representatives from Utah]] [[Category:University of Utah alumni]] [[Category:Utah lawyers]] [[Category:Republican Party Utah state senators]] [[Category:20th-century American lawyers]] [[Category:S.J. Quinney College of Law alumni]] [[Category:20th-century United States representatives]] [[Category:20th-century members of the Utah Legislature]]