Lawrence Gordon Williams (September 15, 1913 – July 13, 1975) was an American businessman and military veteran who served four terms as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, representing the

7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

district of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

from 1967 to 1975.

Biography

Williams was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. He moved to Philadelphia in June 1922. He attended

Drexel Institute of Technology Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, Sc ...

. He was a commissioner (1952–1966) and president of the board (1960–1966) of the township of Springfield, Pennsylvania. He was employed by the

Curtis Publishing Company The Curtis Publishing Company, founded in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became one of the largest and most influential publishers in the United States during the early 20th century. The company's publications included the ''Ladies' Home Jour ...

from 1936 to 1966, and retired as assistant to the senior vice president in charge of manufacturing. He served in the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was Delaware County’s representative on the policy committee on the Penn-Jersey Transportation Study, 1959–1966, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. He was the past president of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Commissioners.

Congress

He was elected in 1966 as a Republican to the 90th and to the three succeeding Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1974.

Later career and death

He was appointed by President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

as special assistant to the co-chairman of the Ozarks Regional Commission and served in that capacity from January 20, 1975, until his death. He is buried at Edgewood Memorial Park in

Glen Mills, Pennsylvania Glen Mills is an unincorporated community in Concord Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States about 27 miles west of Philadelphia. The ZIP code for Glen Mills is 19342. History The area around Glen Mills was part of the original ...

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Lawrence G. 1913 births 1975 deaths United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Pennsylvania Politicians from Pittsburgh Politicians from Philadelphia Drexel University alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 20th-century American legislators