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William Macellus Howard | |
|---|---|
 Howard in 1909 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's8th district | |
| In office March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1911 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas G. Lawson |
| Succeeded by | Samuel J. Tribble |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1857-12-06)December 6, 1857 |
| Died | July 5, 1932(1932-07-05) (aged 74) |
| Alma mater | Martin Institute University of Georgia |
William Marcellus Howard (December 6, 1857 – July 5, 1932) was a notedjurist andpolitician from theAmerican state ofGeorgia.
Howard was born inBerwick, Louisiana and moved to Georgia with his family while in his youth. He attended theMartin Institute inJefferson, Georgia, and graduated from theUniversity of Georgia inAthens with a Bachelor of Philosophy in 1877.
After admission to the state bar in 1880, Howard practised law inLexington, Georgia. He was elected as the solicitor general of Georgia's northern circuit and served in that capacity from 1884 until 1896 when he successfully ran for theUnited States House of Representatives. He was re-elected to this office six times (1898, 1900, 1902, 1904, 1906 and 1908) before losing the nomination for the 1910 election.[1]
During his last few terms in the U.S. House and for several years after leaving that body, Howard served on the Board of Regents of theSmithsonian Institution (1905 through 1912) and was a trustee of theCarnegie Endowment for International Peace.
PresidentHoward Taft appointed Howard to the United States Tariff Board in 1911 and he served in that capacity until 1913. At that time, Howard moved toAugusta, Georgia.
Howard was appointed to appealLeo Frank's death sentence after Frank was convicted in the murder ofMary Phagan in 1915. Howard cited flaws in the prosecution's case, including discrepancies in testimony and mishandling of the investigation by Atlanta police, to successfully convinceGeorgia Gov. John M. Slaton to commute Frank's death sentence to life in prison.
Howard died in Augusta, Georgia in 1932 and was buried in Clarke Cemetery in Lexington.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's 8th congressional district March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1911 | Succeeded by |
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