William Cannon Houston
circa 1905–1906
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTennessee's5th district
In office March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1919
Preceded by	James D. Richardson
Succeeded by	Ewin L. Davis
Member of theTennessee House of Representatives
In office 1877-1879 1881-1885
Personal details
Born	March 17, 1852 (1852-03-17) Shelbyville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	August 30, 1931(1931-08-30) (aged 79) Cannon County, Tennessee, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Lizzie Minor McLemore Houston
Profession	planter newspaper publisher Attorney politician judge

William Cannon Houston (March 17, 1852 – August 30, 1931) was an American politician and a member of theUnited States House of Representatives for the5th congressional district ofTennessee.

Born inShelbyville, Tennessee, inBedford County, Houston moved with his mother toWoodbury, Tennessee, inCannon County in 1858. He attended the schools of Woodbury andSweetwater, Tennessee. He engaged in agricultural pursuits and later in the publication of a newspaper.

Houston was a member of theTennessee House of Representatives from 1877 to 1879 and from 1881 to 1885. He studied law, was admitted to thebar in 1878, and commenced practice in Woodbury, Tennessee. He was a member of theDemocratic state executive committee in 1888. He was chairman of the Democratic state convention in 1888. He was elected judge of the eighth judicial circuit in 1894, was re-elected in 1902, and served until he was elected to Congress.^[1]

Elected as aDemocratic to theFifty-ninth and the six succeeding Congresses, Houston served from March 4, 1905, to March 3, 1919,^[2] and was not a candidate for renomination in 1918. He was the chairman of theUnited States House Committee on the Census during theSixty-second Congress and chairman of theUnited States House Committee on Territories during theSixty-third throughSixty-fifth Congresses. He was a delegate to theDemocratic National Convention in 1920.^[3]

Houston died on hisBeaver Dam Plantation nearWoodbury, Tennessee, on August 30, 1931. He isinterred at Riverside Cemetery near Woodbury, Tennessee.^[4] His son,Frank K. Houston, became a banking executive.

 This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.

• William C. Houston atFind a Grave

• 1852 births
• 1931 deaths
• People from Shelbyville, Tennessee
• Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives
• Democratic Party United States representatives from Tennessee
• 19th-century owners of plantations in the United States
• People from Woodbury, Tennessee
• 20th-century United States representatives
• 19th-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly
• Newspaper publishers (people)
• Owners of plantations in Tennessee

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress