William Bacon Oliver (May 23, 1867 – May 27, 1948) was a
Congressman
A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...
from
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
.
He was born in
Eutaw, Alabama
Eutaw ( ) is a city in and the county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The e ...
, graduated from the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
in 1887 and from the law department in 1889. After additional courses at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
in the same year, he was admitted to the Alabama bar, and set up a practice in
Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...
.
He became dean of the law school of the University of Alabama in 1909, serving until 1913, then ran successfully for Congress in 1914, and remained there for eleven Congresses, not standing for reelection in 1936.
He then served as a special assistant to the
United States Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
from 1939 to 1944, at which time he retired. He died in 1948, and is buried in the
Eutaw Cemetery in Eutaw.
The
William Bacon Oliver Lock and Dam on the
Black Warrior River
The Black Warrior River is a waterway in west-central Alabama in the southeastern United States. The river rises in the extreme southern edges of the Appalachian Highlands and flows 178 miles (286 km) to the Tombigbee River, of which the Bl ...
in Alabama is named after him, as is Oliver Lake behind the dam.
References
Black Warrior River hydrologic modifications
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, William Bacon
1867 births
1948 deaths
People from Eutaw, Alabama
Deans of law schools in the United States
Alabama lawyers
University of Alabama faculty
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama