Norris, George William (1861–1944)

US representative and senator. In 1913 he began a stormy 30-year career in the US Senate (1913–43). A progressive in domestic matters, he gained national notoriety for his opposition to US entry into World War I and to US participation in the League of Nations. In the 1930s he was a firm supporter of the New Deal. He was a sponsor of the Norris-LaGuardia Anti-Injunction Act of 1932, which protected labour's right to organize; his long years of work for public control of hydroelectric resources culminated in the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933. In 1936 he was elected to the Senate as an Independent, but he was defeated for re-election in 1942.

Norris was born in York Township, Ohio. He received a law degree in 1882. Moving to Nebraska in 1885 to practice law, he served as a county prosecuting attorney (1892–96) and state judge (1896–1902). In 1902 he was elected to the US House of Representatives (Republican, Nebraska; 1903–13).