William Henry Wills (October 26, 1882 – March 6, 1946) was an American politician from the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

state of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. He was the 61st

lieutenant governor of Vermont The lieutenant governor of Vermont is elected for a two-year term and chosen separately from the governor. The Vermont Lieutenant Governor's main responsibilities include acting as governor when the governor is out of state or incapacitated, presi ...

from 1937 to 1941 and the 65th

governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of 2 years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold gubernatorial elections every ...

from 1941 to 1945. In 1944, Wills was a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

Biography

William Henry Wills was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, where his family lived for the first ten years of his life. When his father, James Henry Wills, died, his mother Alzina moved to

Vergennes, Vermont Vergennes is a city located in the northwest quadrant of Addison County, Vermont, United States. The municipality is bordered by the towns of Ferrisburgh, Panton, and Waltham. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,553. It is the smalle ...

, to live near relatives, and he lived there for eight years. At eighteen, he moved to

Bennington Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous to ...

, where he worked at several occupations, including selling shoes. He was married to Hazel McLeod and they had one child.

Career

Wills started an insurance company in 1915, and was also involved in other financial services. He got into electoral politics in the 1920s, winning election to the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...

in 1928, representing Bennington; he won the

Bennington County Bennington County is a county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,347. The shire towns (county seats) are jointly Bennington ("The Southshire") and Manchester ("The Northshire"), and the largest municipal ...

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

seat in the following election (1930), and was chosen president ''pro tem'' of that body. Wills chose to run for lieutenant governor in 1932, but lost the nomination to

Charles Manley Smith Charles Manley Smith (August 3, 1868 – August 12, 1937) was an American politician from Vermont. He served as the 59th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1933 to 1935 and 63rd governor of Vermont from 1935 to 1937. Life and career Smith wa ...

. Returning to the Senate in the 1934 election, Wills was again elected president ''pro tem''. In 1936, Wills again ran for lieutenant governor, this time winning the election to succeed

George Aiken George David Aiken (August 20, 1892November 19, 1984) was an American politician and horticulturist. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 64th governor of Vermont (1937–1941) before serving in the United States Senate for 34 years, ...

(who was elected governor), and won again in 1938. Wills was elected governor in 1940, succeeding Aiken, who chose to run for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. He won again in 1942, but chose not to seek a third term, citing poor health. Among the policies he successfully championed as governor were the institution of a merit system for state employees and a minimum wage for teachers. He was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Mortimer R. Proctor. By the time he left office, Wills had received honorary

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

degrees from

Norwich University Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus ...

and the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

. He was president of the board of trustees of the

Episcopal Diocese of Vermont The Episcopal Diocese of Vermont is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the state of Vermont. It was the first diocese in the Episcopal Church to elect a woman, Mary Adelia Rosamond McLeod, as diocesan bishop. ...

. He was also on the board of a number of other charities, and was a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, an

Elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

, and an

Odd Fellow The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political and non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Order of Odd ...

. He was a delegate to the

1944 Republican National Convention The 1944 Republican National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, from June 26 to 28, 1944. It nominated Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York for president and Governor John Bricker of Ohio for vice president. Background When the conve ...

. Wills was nominated by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

to replace

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

member Norman S. Case on June 13, 1945, for the seven-year term beginning July 1, 1945. Wills was confirmed on

unanimous consent In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a prop ...

by the

on July 12, a few hours after a brief hearing before the Senate Interstate Commerce committee, and he took the oath of office on July 23, 1945.

Death

Wills served until his death the following year, while presiding over an FCC hearing in

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population is 105,643 as of the 2020 United States Census. Along with Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of ...

. He is interred at Park Lawn Cemetery,

Bennington, Vermont Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 ...

References

External links

National Governors Association
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wills, William Henry Wills, William H. Wills, William H. Wills, William H. Republican Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives Republican Party Vermont state senators Presidents pro tempore of the Vermont Senate Politicians from Chicago People from Bennington, Vermont Businesspeople from Vermont Members of the Federal Communications Commission Norwich University alumni Republican Party governors of Vermont 20th-century American politicians Burials in Vermont 20th-century American businesspeople