John William Davis
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John W. Davis GBE |
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| U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom | |
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In office December 18, 1918 – March 9, 1921 |
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| Monarch | George V |
| President |
Woodrow Wilson Warren G. Harding |
| Prime Minister | David Lloyd George |
| Preceded by | Walter Page |
| Succeeded by | George Harvey |
| 14th United States Solicitor General | |
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In office August 29, 1913 – November 21, 1918 |
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| President | Woodrow Wilson |
| Preceded by | William Bullitt |
| Succeeded by | Alexander King |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 1st district |
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In office March 4, 1911 – August 29, 1913 |
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| Preceded by | William Hubbard |
| Succeeded by | Matthew Neely |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John William Davis April 13, 1873 Clarksburg, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | March 24, 1955 (aged 81) Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Julia McDonald (1899–1900) Ellen Bassel (1912–1943) |
| Children | Julia (with McDonald) |
| Alma mater | Washington and Lee University |
John William Davis (April 13, 1873 – March 24, 1955) was an American politician, diplomat and lawyer. He served under President Woodrow Wilson as the Solicitor General of the United States and the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. The culmination of his political career came when he ran for President in 1924 under the Democratic Party ticket, losing to Republican incumbent Calvin Coolidge.
Born and raised in West Virginia, Davis briefly worked as a teacher before beginning his long legal career. Davis's father, John J. Davis, had been a delegate to the Wheeling Convention and served in the United States House of Representatives in the 1870s. Davis joined his father's legal practice and adopted much of his father's political views, including opposition to anti-lynching legislation and support for states' rights. Davis served in the United States House of Representatives from 1911 to 1913, helping to write the Clayton Antitrust Act. He held the position of solicitor general from 1913 to 1918, during which time he successfully argued for the illegality of Oklahoma's "grandfather law" in Guinn v. United States.
While serving as the ambassador to Britain from 1918 to 1921, Davis was a dark horse candidate for the 1920 Democratic presidential nomination. After he left office, Davis helped establish the Council on Foreign Relations and advocated for the repeal of Prohibition. The 1924 Democratic National Convention nominated Davis for president after 103 ballots. His nomination made him the first nominee from a former slave state since the Civil War, and Davis remains the only major party presidential nominee from West Virginia. Running on a ticket with Charles W. Bryan, Davis lost in a landslide to Coolidge.
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