Thomas Hickman Williams (January 20, 1801May 3, 1851) was a

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. Born in

Williamson County, Tennessee Williamson County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 247,726. The county seat is Franklin, Tennessee, Franklin, and the county is located in Middle Tenness ...

, he attended the common schools, moved to Mississippi and settled in Pontotoc County, and engaged in planting. He was appointed and subsequently elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James F. Trotter and served from November 12, 1838, to March 3, 1839. He ran as a candidate in the 1843 Mississippi gubernatorial election, losing to

Albert G. Brown Albert Gallatin Brown (May 31, 1813June 12, 1880) was Governor of Mississippi from 1844 to 1848 and a United States Democratic Party, Democratic United States Senator from Mississippi from 1854 to 1861, when he withdrew during secession. Early ...

. He was secretary and treasurer of the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

from 1845 to 1851 and was known as "Father of the State University," being the first to propose it and also aiding to secure it. Williams died on his plantation south of Pontotoc in 1851; interment was in the private cemetery on the family estate.

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Works Cited

1801 births 1851 deaths People from Williamson County, Tennessee Democratic Party United States senators from Mississippi Mississippi Democrats People from Pontotoc, Mississippi 19th-century United States senators {{Mississippi-politician-stub