William Bauchop Wilson

Infobox Congressman
name =William Bauchop Wilson


state =Pennsylvania
district =15th
term_start =March 4, 1907
term_end =March 3, 1913
preceded =Elias Deemer
succeeded =Edgar R. Kiess
order2 =1st United States Secretary of Labor
term_start2 =March 5, 1913
term_end2 =March 5, 1921
president2 =Woodrow Wilson
preceded2 =None
succeeded2 =James J. Davis
birth_date =April 2, 1862
birth_place =Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Scotland
death_date =May 25, 1934 (aged 72)
death_place =Savannah, Georgia
nationality =
party =Democratic
spouse =
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater =
occupation =
profession =
religion = Presbyterian


website =
footnotes =

William Bauchop Wilson (April 2, 1862 - May 25, 1934) was a U.S. (Scottish-born) labor leader and political figure. He served as the first Secretary of Labor between 1913 and 1921 under Woodrow Wilson.

Early life and work

William B. Wilson was born in Blantyre, Scotland. He immigrated to the United States with his parents, who settled in Arnot, Pennsylvania, in 1870. He was engaged in coal mining from 1871 to 1898. He served as international secretary-treasurer of the United Mine Workers of America from 1900 to 1908.

House of Representatives

He was elected as a Democrat to the Sixtieth, Sixty-first, and Sixty-second Congresses. He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Labor during the Sixty-second Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1912 and for election in 1914.

ecretary of Labor

He was appointed United States Secretary of Labor in the Cabinet of President Woodrow Wilson and served from March 5, 1913, to March 5, 1921. During the First World War was a member of the Council of National Defense.

He was a member of the Federal Board for Vocational Education from 1914 to 1921 and served as chairman of the board in 1920 and 1921. He was appointed on March 4, 1921, a member of the International Joint Commission, created to prevent disputes regarding the use of the boundary waters between the United States and Canada, and served until March 21, 1921, when he resigned. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1926. After his public service he was engaged in mining and agricultural pursuits near Blossburg, PA. He died on a train near Savannah, Georgia, and is buried in Arbon Cemetery in Blossburg.

ee also

* [http://www.blossburg.org/wb_wilson/thestory.htm Extensive Biography]
* [http://www.dol.gov/asp/programs/history/wilson.htm USDOL biography]
*CongBio|W000620