Williams, Harrison A., Jr., 1919-2001

Harrison Arlington Williams, Jr. (1919 - 2001) represented New Jersey in the U.S. Senate from 1959 until 1982. He also served in the House of Representatives as Congressman from New Jersey's Sixth Congressional District (Union County) from 1953 through 1956. Known since infancy by the nickname "Pete," Williams was a member of the Democratic Party during a period when Democrats held a majority in the Senate. Consequently, until a Republican majority took office in 1981 toward the end of his career, Williams held the Chairmanships of a number of committees and subcommittees over the years. Further, Williams played important roles as a leader within the Democratic Party, notably as a member of the Democratic Senate Steering Committee, the group responsible for committee assignments.

Williams was born in Plainfield, NJ, on December 10, 1919, son of Harrison A. Williams, Sr. and Isabel Lamson Williams. He attended the Plainfield public schools, then studied economics and political science at Oberlin College, graduating in 1941. After a short stint as a reporter with the Washington Post and beginning graduate work at Georgetown University Foreign Service School, Williams, a Naval reservist, was called to active duty when the U.S. entered WWII. He served on a minesweeper for a year and as a Navy pilot for three years. After his discharge, Williams worked in an Ohio steel mill for a year before attending Columbia University Law School, from which he graduated in 1948. Williams practiced law in New Hampshire for one year before returning to New Jersey to join the firm of Cox and Walburg in Newark and, in the early 1950s, the Elizabeth firm that became Pollis and Williams.

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