Burr Harrison | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's7th district | |
| In office November 5, 1946 – January 3, 1963 | |
| Preceded by | A. Willis Robertson |
| Succeeded by | John O. Marsh, Jr. |
| Member of theVirginia Senate from the25th district | |
| In office January 10, 1940 – 1943 | |
| Preceded by | T. Russell Cather |
| Succeeded by | Burgess E. Nelson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 2, 1904 |
| Died | December 29, 1973(1973-12-29) (aged 69) Winchester, Virginia |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Hampden-Sydney College University of Virginia Georgetown University |
| Occupation | attorney, judge, politician |
Burr Powell Harrison (July 2, 1904 – December 29, 1973) was a Virginia lawyer, judge andDemocratic politician who was a member of theByrd Organization and served asU.S. Congressman representingVirginia's 7th congressional district (as had his father).
Born inWinchester, Virginia to Virginia lawyer and soon-to-be CongressmanThomas W. Harrison and his wife, Burr Harrison was descended from theFirst Families of Virginia and named for his great-great-grandfather Burr William Harrison (1793–1865) who representedLoudoun County in theVirginia General Assembly in the 1840s and great-great-great-great-grandfatherBurr Harrison (1734–1790), who representedPrince William County and fought in theAmerican Revolutionary War. This Burr Harrison attended the public schools, thenWoodberry Forest School,Virginia Military Institute,Hampden-Sydney College, and theUniversity of Virginia. He graduated fromGeorgetown University Law School,Washington, D.C., in 1926.
Harrison was admitted to the Virginia bar the same year and commenced practice inWinchester, Virginia with his father (who died in 1935). Harrison was the attorney for Frederick County in 1932–1940. During the years 1940–1943, Harrison represented Frederick County (part-time) inSenate of Virginia. His colleagues elected him as judge of the seventeenth judicial circuit and the corporation court of Winchester in 1943–1946.
Voters ofVirginia's 7th congressional district (which his father had represented during World War I and before theGreat Depression) elected Harrison as aDemocrat to the Seventy-ninth and to the Eightieth Congress, initially by special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation ofUnited States RepresentativeA. Willis Robertson (who successfully ran for election as U.S. Senator). Voters reelected Harrison to the seven succeeding Congresses (November 5, 1946 – January 3, 1963). He was a member of theHouse Un-American Activities Committee during the McCathy era. Like his father, Harrison was a member of theByrd Organization led by Virginia's U.S. SenatorHarry F. Byrd (of Winchester) and accordingly supportedMassive Resistance to the U.S. Supreme Court decisions inBrown v. Board of Education. He signed the 1956Southern Manifesto that opposed the desegregation of public schools. Harrison did not seek his party's renomination to the Eighty-eighth Congress in 1962, but instead resumed his legal practice in Winchester, Virginia. Fellow DemocratJohn O. Marsh, Jr. succeeded to the Congressional seat.
Harrison died in Winchester on December 29, 1973, and was interred in Winchester'sMount Hebron Cemetery.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 7th congressional district 1946–1963 | Succeeded by |
 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
