Harrison, Byron

Harrison, Byron (Patton)

(1881–1941) U.S. representative/ senator; born in Crystal Springs, Miss. After losing his father at age seven, he hawked newspapers and drove mules, later teaching school while he earned his law degree. In the U.S. House of Representatives (Dem., Miss; 1911–19) and the Senate (1919–41) he supported President Wilson's internationalism. Chairman of the Finance Committee (1932–41), he secured passage of New Deal legislation, although after 1937 he became selectively supportive of Roosevelt.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.