William Lyne Wilson

Infobox US Cabinet official
name=William Lyne Wilson


image_width=
order=37th
title=United States Postmaster General
term_start=April 4, 1895
term_end=March 5, 1897
predecessor=Wilson S. Bissell
successor=James A. Gary
birth_date=May 3, 1843
birth_place=Charles Town, Virginia, USA
death_date=October 17, 1900
death_place=Lexington, Virginia, USA
party=Bourbon Democrat
spouse=
profession=Politician, Lawyer, Soldier, Professor, University president
religion=

:"For other people with the same name, see William Wilson or William L. Wilson."William Lyne Wilson (May 3, 1843 – October 17, 1900) was a Bourbon Democrat politician and lawyer from West Virginia.

Born in Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia), Wilson attended Charles Town Academy, graduated from Columbian College in 1860 and subsequently studied at the University of Virginia. During the Civil War, he enlisted in the Confederate Army and served as a private in the 12th Virginia Cavalry. For several years, he taught school at Columbian College during which he graduated from law school and was admitted to the bar in 1869, commencing practice in Charles Town.

Wilson was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1880 and was chosen as president of West Virginia University, taking office on September 4, 1882. He was elected a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives shortly afterwards and won reelection five times afterwards, serving from 1883 to 1895. He served as chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means from 1893 to 1895 during which he co-authored the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act which slightly reduced the United States tariff rates from the numbers set by the McKinley Tariff of 1890, though the logrolling that raised the rates disgusted him.

After leaving Congress, Wilson was appointed Postmaster General in the cabinet of President Grover Cleveland and served from 1895 to 1897. During that time, future Secretary of War Newton D. Baker served as his private secretary. In 1896, he broke party lines by opposing the Free Silver Movement led by Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan and, like many Bourbon Democrats, supported the National Democratic candidate John McAuley Palmer who supported the traditional gold standard, limited government and opposed protectionism.

After leaving office as Postmaster General, Wilson served as president of Washington and Lee University. He died in Lexington, Virginia on October 17, 1900 and was interred in Edgehill Cemetery in Charles Town. A portion of U.S. Route 340 between Harpers Ferry and Charles Town, West Virginia is designated the William L. Wilson Freeway in his honor.

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