Bernrieder, William A.

William Anton Bernrieder was born on June 22, 1900. He attended St. Joseph School in 1906, then Annunciation Church School. He then attended St. Thomas College (now St. Thomas High School) after a period at St. Mary's Seminary. William Bernrieder completed three years of law school at Houston Law School.

In 1923, William Bernrieder began six years of service to Oscar Holcombe, the mayor of Houston. During this time he began his work toward having a ship in the U.S. Navy named after Houston. In 1927 he was appointed to the Cruiser Houston Committee, which coordinated the drive towards obtaining a cruiser named "Houston." Thousands of letters and telegrams were sent to Washington as part of the crusade, which was successful. A heavy cruiser named for the city of Houston was launched on Sept. 7, 1927. Once Bernrieder and the other members of the committee had succeeded in having a ship named for the city, the committee worked toward supporting the ship and its crew through gifts and other means.

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