William Henry Davis (18 February 1872 – 7 January 1951) was an educator, pharmacist, and a United States government official. In the

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

administration he was appointed as a special assistant to the Secretary of War, the highest position of any African American in the national government.

Early life and education

Davis was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, on February 18, 1872, to former slaves Jerry and Susan Davis. He graduated from Louisville Colored High School in June 1888 at the age of 16, second in his class of eighteen students. Davis delivered the graduation address he titled, "The Dignity of Labor". Davis taught himself shorthand and typing, and became a legal clerk at the law firm of Cary & Spindle. Later he served as secretary to Mayor Todd of Louisville. He also owned a thriving shoe store, which sold manufactured goods as well as making custom shoes and boots. He also taught typing and shorthand to black students, who were excluded from white segregated classes."William H. Davis"
in: Notable Kentucky African Americans," The University of Kentucky, accessed 31 October 2015 Before the turn of the century, David moved to Washington, DC, for its opportunities. He studied at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

, earning a Doctorate of Pharmacology in 1902.

Career

During his period of study, Davis also founded the Mott Night Business High School. The school district heard about the success of Davis' school and asked him to become principal of Armstrong High School. He established connections among educated African Americans in the capital. In October 1917, Emmett J. Scott, a noted assistant to

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

, then president of Tuskegee University, was appointed by the President

administration as a special assistant to the Secretary of War

Newton D. Baker Newton Diehl Baker Jr. (December 3, 1871 – December 25, 1937) was an American lawyer, Georgist,Noble, Ransom E. "Henry George and the Progressive Movement." The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol. 8, no. 3, 1949, pp. 259–269. w ...

, for Negro affairs during the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Scott's appointment was then the highest government commission ever given an African American. Scott appointed William H. Davis as his own special assistant and manager of his five-person staff in the War Department. At the War Department, Davis handled the complaints of black soldiers, making sure they and their families received the government benefits to which they were entitled. He ensured that the newly instituted Selective Service regulations were applied equally to all people. Dr. Davis later served as Secretary to the Presidential Commission investigating the economic conditions in the Virgin Islands.

Marriage and family

He married Julia B. Hubbard and they had children, including

John P. Davis John Preston Davis (January 19, 1905 – September 11, 1973) was an American journalist, lawyer and activist intellectual, who became prominent for his work with the Joint Committee on National Recovery (JCNR). In 1935, he co-founded the ...

, who became an attorney and civil rights activist.

Death

Dr. Davis died Sunday, 7 January 1951. He was buried at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery.

References

External links

"Bios", Era of Progress, Library of State of North Carolina
Chicago: Homewood Press, 1919 * ttp://www.uky.edu/Libraries/NKAA/ "NOTABLE KENTUCKY AFRICAN AMERICANS" University of Kentucky *The John P. Davis Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, William Henry 1872 births People from Louisville, Kentucky Howard University alumni Year of death missing