Burr Powell Harrison (July 2, 1904 – December 29, 1973) was a Virginia lawyer, judge and
Democratic politician who was a member of the
Byrd Organization and served as
U.S. Congressman representing
Virginia's 7th congressional district (as had his father).
Early and family life
Born in
Winchester, Virginia to Virginia lawyer and soon-to-be Congressman
Thomas W. Harrison and his wife, Burr Harrison was descended from the
First Families of Virginia and named for his great-great-grandfather Burr William Harrison (1793–1865) who represented
Loudoun County
Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. The county seat is Leesburg, Virgi ...
in the
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...
in the 1840s and great-great-great-great-grandfather
Burr Harrison (1734–1790), who represented
Prince William County and fought in the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. This Burr Harrison attended the public schools, then
Woodberry Forest School,
Virginia Military Institute,
Hampden-Sydney College, and the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
. He graduated from
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
Law School,
Washington, D.C., in 1926.
Career
Harrison was admitted to the Virginia bar the same year and commenced practice in
Winchester, Virginia with his father (who died in 1935). Harrison was the attorney for Frederick County in 1932–1940. During the years 1940–1943, Harrison represented Frederick County (part-time) in
Senate of Virginia. His colleagues elected him as judge of the seventeenth judicial circuit and the corporation court of Winchester in 1943–1946.
Voters of
Virginia's 7th congressional district (which his father had represented during World War I and before the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
) elected Harrison as a
Democrat to the Seventy-ninth and to the Eightieth Congress, initially by special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
United States Representative
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 ...
A. Willis Robertson (who successfully ran for election as U.S. Senator). Voters reelected Harrison to the seven succeeding Congresses (November 5, 1946 – January 3, 1963). He was a member of the
House Un-American Activities Committee during the McCathy era. Like his father, Harrison was a member of the
Byrd Organization led by Virginia's U.S. Senator
Harry F. Byrd (of Winchester) and accordingly supported
Massive Resistance to the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in ''
Brown v. Board of Education''. He signed the 1956
Southern Manifesto that opposed the desegregation of public schools. Harrison did not seek his party's renomination to the Eighty-eighth Congress in 1962, but instead resumed his legal practice in Winchester, Virginia. Fellow Democrat
John O. Marsh, Jr. succeeded to the Congressional seat.
Death and legacy
Harrison died in Winchester on December 29, 1973, and was interred in Winchester's
Mount Hebron Cemetery.
Electoral history
*1946; Harrison was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election with 62.53% of the vote, defeating Republican Karl Jenkins. He was simultaneously elected in the general election with 62.32% of the vote, defeating Republican Jenkins.
*1948; Harrison was re-elected with 60.43% of the vote, defeating Republican Stephen D. Timberlake.
*1950; Harrison was re-elected with 69.41% of the vote, defeating Republican Jacob A. Garber.
*1952; Harrison was re-elected with 79.09% of the vote, defeating Republican Glenn W. Ruebush.
*1954; Harrison was re-elected with 74.17% of the vote, defeating Republican John P. Ruddick.
*1956; Harrison was re-elected with 69.04% of the vote, defeating Republican A.R. Dunning.
*1958; Harrison was re-elected with 76.64% of the vote, defeating Independent Henry A. Oder.
*1960; Harrison was re-elected unopposed.
See also
*
List of members of the House Un-American Activities Committee
Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Burr Powell
1904 births
1973 deaths
Georgetown University Law Center alumni
Virginia lawyers
Democratic Party Virginia state senators
Virginia state court judges
Politicians from Winchester, Virginia
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia
20th-century American lawyers
Woodberry Forest School alumni
20th-century Virginia state court judges
Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (Winchester, Virginia)
Virginia circuit court judges
Signatories of the Southern Manifesto
20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
20th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly
Members of the House Un-American Activities Committee