Davis, John William (1873–1955)

US lawyer and public official. He was a practising lawyer before his election to the US House of Representatives as a Democrat for West Virginia (1911–13). He became solicitor general in the Wilson administration, and, in 1924, he was the surprise Democratic presidential nominee, but he was beaten by Coolidge.

He was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Following his spell as solicitor general, he was ambassador to Great Britain in 1918. He then returned to private practice and served as president of the American Bar Association (1922–24). Davis became a strong supporter of the United Nations. In his last major case, he defended the atomic scientist J Robert Oppenheimer, who was accused of being a security risk.