Benjamin Winslow Harris (November 10, 1823 – February 7, 1907) was a nineteenth-century politician, lawyer and judge from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. He was the father of Robert Orr Harris. Born in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, Harris pursued an academic course at Phillips Academy, Andover, graduating in 1847. He graduated from Dane Law School of

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1849. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, in 1850, commencing practice in East Bridgewater. He served in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

in 1857, was a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

in 1858, was

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for the southeastern district of

from 1858 to 1866 and was collector of internal revenue for the second district of

from 1866 to 1873. Harris was elected a Republican to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in 1872, serving from 1873 to 1883, not being a candidate for renomination in 1882. There, he served as chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs from 1881 to 1883. Afterwards, he resumed practicing law in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and was judge of

probate In common law jurisdictions, probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased; or whereby, in the absence of a legal will, the e ...

for

Plymouth County, Massachusetts Plymouth County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, south of Boston. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 530,819. Its county seats are Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth and ...

, from 1887 to 1906. Harris died in East Bridgewater on February 7, 1907, and was interred in Central Cemetery in East Bridgewater.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Benjamin W. 1823 births 1907 deaths Phillips Academy alumni Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Republican Party Massachusetts state senators County district attorneys in Massachusetts Judges of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court People from East Bridgewater, Massachusetts Massachusetts lawyers Harvard Law School alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts 19th-century Massachusetts state court judges 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives