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Previous Director William J. Harris
Previous Director William J. Harris
U.S. Census Bureau Director: 1913-1915
William Harris was born in Cedartown, Georgia in 1868. His father was a surgeon in the Confederate Army. Harris graduated from the University of Georgia in 1890, and began several years moving back and forth between the public and private sectors; he worked in the insurance and banking industry before becoming secretary to Senator Alexander Clay. After this, Harris turned to entrepreneurship, founding both the Georgia Fire Insurance Company and the Farmers’ & Mechanics’ Bank.
In 1910, running as a Democrat, Harris won a seat in the Georgia state senate. Harris ran Woodrow Wilson’s presidential campaign in Georgia; Wilson rewarded this effort by appointing him director of the Census Bureau when he came into office in 1913. Harris stayed at the Census Bureau for only two years, resigning in 1915 when Wilson appointed him to the newly created Federal Trade Commission. In 1918, he won a seat in the U.S. Senate and represented Georgia there until his death in 1932.
Page Last Revised - April 28, 2023
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