# William J. Harris

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American politician (1868–1932)

For Illinois architect, see [William J. Harris (architect)](/source/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. Party Democratic Education University of Georgia

**William Julius Harris** (February 3, 1868 – April 18, 1932) was a [United States senator](/source/United_States_senator) from the state of [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state)). He was a great-grandson of [Charles Hooks](/source/Charles_Hooks), who had been a [Representative](/source/United_States_Representative) from [North Carolina](/source/North_Carolina), and son-in-law of [Joseph Wheeler](/source/Joseph_Wheeler), [Confederate](/source/Confederate_Army) General and Representative from [Alabama](/source/Alabama).

## Early life

Harris was born in [Cedartown](/source/Cedartown%2C_Georgia) in [Polk County](/source/Polk_County%2C_Georgia), [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state)), and attended the common schools. He graduated from the [University of Georgia](/source/University_of_Georgia) at [Athens](/source/Athens%2C_Georgia) in 1890.

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

## Career

He engaged in the general [insurance](/source/Insurance) business and banking at Cedartown, Georgia. He served as private secretary to U.S. Senator [Alexander S. Clay](/source/Alexander_S._Clay) from 1904 to 1909.

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

He was chairman of the FTC 1917-1918. In [1918](/source/1918_United_States_Senate_election_in_Georgia), he was elected as a [Democrat](/source/USDemocrat) to the US Senate, and reelected in [1924](/source/1924_United_States_Senate_elections) and [1930](/source/1930_United_States_Senate_election_in_Georgia). 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](/source/National_Forest_Reservation_Commission) from 1929 to 1932.

He died of a [heart attack](/source/Myocardial_infarction) in [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_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](/source/Governor_of_Georgia), [Richard Russell, Jr.](/source/Richard_Russell%2C_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

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](/source/Peter_Charles_Harris) and Alabama physician Dr. [Seale Harris](/source/Seale_Harris).[1][2]

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

## See also

- [List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1900–1949)](/source/List_of_members_of_the_United_States_Congress_who_died_in_office_(1900%E2%80%931949))

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-JCH_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-JCH_1-1) Harris, James Coffee (1911). [*The Personal and Family History of Charles Hooks and Margaret Monk Harris*](https://books.google.com/books?id=hbhRAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA9). J. C. Harris. pp. 9–10, 102–106. Retrieved November 1, 2023.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-obit_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-obit_2-1) ["Senator W. J. Harris Dies in Washington: Georgian Succumbs at 64 to Long Illness—Won Seat in 1918 Battle for Wilson"](https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/04/19/100719536.pdf) (PDF). *The New York Times*. April 19, 1932. p. 21. Retrieved November 1, 2023.

- *[Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson](/source/Master_of_the_Senate%3A_The_Years_of_Lyndon_Johnson)*, 2002, [Robert A. Caro](/source/Robert_A._Caro), p. 174 [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-394-72095-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-394-72095-1)

- United States Congress. ["William J. Harris (id: H000259)"](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000259). *[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress](/source/Biographical_Directory_of_the_United_States_Congress)*.

## External links

- Media related to [William Julius Harris](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category: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 Hardwick Harris Cohen Russell Gambrell Nunn Cleland Chambliss Perdue Ossoff Class 3 Gunn Jackson Milledge Tait Elliott Berrien Forsyth Cuthbert W. Colquitt Johnson Dawson Iverson J. Hill Gordon Brown Gordon Clay Terrell Smith Watson Felton George Talmadge Mattingly Fowler Coverdell Z. Miller Isakson Loeffler Warnock

v t e 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 (2025, acting) Charlie Bailey (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 2020 Other 1988 Democratic National Convention

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF FAST WorldCat National United States Israel Artists Photographers' Identities People US Congress Other NARA SNAC Yale LUX

v t e 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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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [William J. Harris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Harris) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Harris?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.