William Wilson
37thUnited States Postmaster General
In office March 1, 1895 – March 5, 1897
President	Grover Cleveland William McKinley
Preceded by	Wilson S. Bissell
Succeeded by	James Gary
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWest Virginia's2nd district
In office March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1895
Preceded by	John B. Hoge
Succeeded by	Alston G. Dayton
Personal details
Born	William Lyne Wilson (1843-05-03)May 3, 1843 Charles Town, Virginia, U.S. (nowWest Virginia)
Died	October 17, 1900(1900-10-17) (aged 57) Lexington, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	George Washington University (BA) University of Virginia
Military service
Allegiance	Confederate States
Branch/service	Confederate States Army
Rank	Private
Unit	12th Virginia Cavalry
Battles/wars	American Civil War

William Lyne Wilson (May 3, 1843 – October 17, 1900) was an American politician and lawyer fromWest Virginia. ABourbon Democrat, he was elected to theUnited States Congress in 1882 and served six terms of office, ending in 1895.

Following his departure from theHouse of Representatives, he was appointedPostmaster General of the United States by PresidentGrover Cleveland, and remained in thatcabinet-level position until 1897. After leaving government service, he was named President ofWashington and Lee University inLexington, Virginia.

William Lyne Wilson was born inCharles Town, Virginia (nowWest Virginia) on May 3, 1843. He attended Charles Town Academy, graduated fromColumbian College, today part ofGeorge Washington University, from which he graduated in 1860.^[1] He subsequently studied at theUniversity of Virginia.^[1]

During theCivil War, he enlisted in theConfederate Army and served as aprivate in the 12th Virginia Cavalry.^[1]

After the war, Wilson for several years, he taught school at Columbian College during which he graduated from law school.^[1] He wasadmitted to the bar in 1869 and opened a private practice in Charles Town.^[1]

He was chosen as president ofWest Virginia University, taking office on September 4, 1882.^[1][2]

He married the daughter of Rev. A.J. Huntington, D.D., professor of Greek in Columbian University.

Wilson was a delegate to theDemocratic National Convention in 1880.^[1] He was elected aDemocrat to theUnited States House of Representatives shortly afterward and won reelection five times afterwards, serving from 1883 to 1895.^[1] He served as chairman of theCommittee on Ways and Means from 1893 to 1895 during which he co-authored theWilson–Gorman Tariff Act which slightly reduced the United Statestariff rates from the numbers set by theMcKinley Tariff of 1890.^[1]

After leaving Congress, Wilson was appointedPostmaster General in thecabinet of PresidentGrover Cleveland and served from 1895 to 1897.^[1] During that time, futureSecretary of WarNewton D. Baker served as his private secretary. In 1896, he broke party lines by opposing theFree Silver Movement led by Democratic presidential nomineeWilliam Jennings Bryan and, like manyBourbon Democrats, backed theNational Democratic candidateJohn McAuley Palmer who supported the traditionalgold standard,limited government and opposedprotectionism.

After leaving office as Postmaster General, Wilson served as president ofWashington and Lee University.^[1] Wilson died inLexington, Virginia, on October 17, 1900, and was interred in Edgehill Cemetery in Charles Town.^[1]

A portion ofU.S. Route 340 betweenHarpers Ferry and Charles Town, West Virginia, is designated theWilliam L. Wilson Freeway in his honor.

• Pensions Appropriation Bill: Speech of Hon. William L. Wilson, of West Virginia, in the House of Representatives, Tuesday, March 2, 1886. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1886.
• The Tariff: Speech of Hon. William L. Wilson, of West Virginia, in the House of Representatives, Thursday, May 3, 1888. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1888.
• The National Democratic Party: Its History, Principles, Achievements, and Aims. (Editor.) Baltimore, MD: H.L. Harvey and Co., 1888.
• The New Trial of Popular Government: An Address Delivered before the Society of the Alumni of the University of Virginia, on Commencement Day, June 1, 1891. Charlottesville, VA, C.M. Brand, 1891.
• Duties on Wool and Woolen Goods: Speech of Hon. William L. Wilson, of West Virginia, in the House of Representatives, Thursday, April 7, 1892. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1892.
• "The Man, or The Platform?" (Symposium contributor.)North American Review, vol. 154, whole no. 426 (May 1892), pp. 525–529.
• "The Tariff Plank at Chicago,"North American Review, vol. 155 (Sept. 1892), pp. 280–286.
• "The Income Tax on Corporations,"North American Review, vol. 158, whole no. 446 (Jan. 1894), pp. 1–7.
• The Tariff: Speech of Hon. William L. Wilson, of West Virginia, in the House of Representatives, Monday and Tuesday, January 8 and 9, 1894. Washington, DC: Capital Publishing Co., 1894.
• Tariff Reform: Speeches of Hon. Charles F. Crisp, of Georgia, and Hon. William L. Wilson, of West Virginia, in the House of Representatives, Thursday, February 1, 1894. With Charles F. Crisp. Washington, DC: Hartman and Cadick, 1894.
• Speech of Hon. William L. Wilson Before the Young Men's Democratic Association at Philadelphia, Pa., January 8th,1895: "Moderate and Just Taxation is the Best Achievement of Legislative Action." Boston, MA: New England Free Trade League, 1895.
• The Inauguration of William Lyne Wilson, LL. D. as President of Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va., September 15, 1897. Lynchburg, VA: J.P. Bell Co., 1897.
• "The Founders of States and the Founders of Colleges,"University Record, vol. 3, no. 15 (July 8, 1898), pp. 85–90.
• The Cabinet Diary of William L. Wilson, 1896-1897. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1957.
• A Borderland Confederate. Festus P. Summers (ed.) Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1962.

• List of presidents of West Virginia University

• James A. Quarles,"William Lyne Wilson,"Sewanee Review, vol. 9, no. 1 (Jan. 1901), pp. 41–56.
• Festus P. Summers,William L. Wilson and Tariff Reform. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953.
• "William L. Wilson: Royally Received and El Paso and Fort Bliss,"Galveston Daily News, vol. 52, no. 333 (Feb. 19, 1894), pg. 6.

• West Virginia & Regional History Center atWest Virginia University,William Lyne Wilson, Papers
• Beach, Chandler B., ed. (1914)."Wilson, William Lyne" .The New Student's Reference Work . Chicago: F. E. Compton and Co.

• 1843 births
• 1900 deaths
• United States postmasters general
• Presidents of Washington and Lee University
• West Virginia lawyers
• Confederate States Army soldiers
• University of Virginia alumni
• People of West Virginia in the American Civil War
• Lawyers from Charles Town, West Virginia
• Cleveland administration cabinet members
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia
• 19th-century West Virginia politicians
• Presidents of West Virginia University
• Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni
• Bourbon Democrats
• Politicians from Charles Town, West Virginia
• Military personnel from Charles Town, West Virginia
• 19th-century United States representatives
• Civil servants from Charles Town, West Virginia

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