William Graves SHARP, Congress, OH (1859-1922)

SHARP, William Graves, a Representative from Ohio; born in Mount Gilead, Morrow County, Ohio, March 14, 1859; moved with his parents to Elyria, Ohio; was graduated from the public schools and from the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1881; was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Elyria, Ohio; served as prosecuting attorney of Lorain County, Ohio, 1885-1888; also interested in the manufacture of charcoal, pig iron, and chemicals; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election in 1900 to the Fifty-seventh Congress; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1904; elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-first, Sixty-second, and Sixty-third Congresses and served from March 4, 1909, to July 23, 1914, when he resigned to become Ambassador to France, in which capacity he served until April 14, 1919; returned to Elyria, Lorain County, Ohio, and engaged in literary pursuits; died in Elyria, Ohio, November 17, 1922; interment in Ridgelawn Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present