Thomas Hickman Williams

Thomas Hickman Williams was a United States Senator from Mississippi. Born in Williamson County, Tennessee, he attended the common schools, moved to Mississippi and settled in Pontotoc County, and engaged in planting. He was appointed and subsequently elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James F. Trotter and served from November 12, 1838, to March 3, 1839. He ran as a candidate in the 1843 Mississippi gubernatorial election, losing to Albert G. Brown. He was secretary and treasurer of the University of Mississippi at Oxford from 1845 to 1851 and was known as "Father of the State University," being the first to propose it and also aiding to secure it.