William J. Harris

William Julius Harris ( born February 3, 1868 in Cedartown, Polk County, Georgia, † April 18, 1932 in Washington DC ) was an American politician (Democratic Party). He represented the state of Georgia in the U.S. Senate.

William Harris was the grandson of Charles Hooks, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina. He attended the public schools of his home and made his 1890 graduation from the University of Georgia in Athens. He then joined in Cedartown in the insurance industry and the banking industry.

From 1904 to 1909 Harris was employed as private secretary to U.S. Senator Alexander S. Clay. After that, he was himself politically active and sat from 1911 to 1912 in the Senate of Georgia. Between 1913 and 1915 he served as Director of the United States Census Bureau; this position he resigned when he was a member of the 1915 Federal Trade Commission (FTC ), in which he remained until 1918. He stood before the Commission in 1917 as Chairman.

He resigned to run for U.S. Senator for Georgia. After his election victory he took the mandate in Washington from March 4, 1919 true and was confirmed twice in office. During his time in the Senate, Harris was also a member of the National Forest Reservation Commission, which sought to protect the American forests. He died on 18 April 1932 of a heart attack and was buried in Cedartown.

Georgia Governor Richard Russell sat John S. Cohen as a provisional replacement for Harris. In the overdue election he went to himself and won.