Hannibal Lafayette Godwin (3 November 1873 - 9 June 1929) was a Democratic U.S. Congressman

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 between 1907 and 1921.

Born near Dunn

Dunn, North Carolina

Dunn is a city in Harnett County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 9,196 at the 2000 census.It is the birthplace of early an rock and roll guitar player, Link Wray, and General William C. Lee, father of the American Army Airborne. The city's slogan is "It's all right here." The...

 in Harnett County, North Carolina

Harnett County, North Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 91,025 people, 33,800 households, and 24,099 families residing in the county. The population density was 153 people per square mile . There were 38,605 housing units at an average density of 65 per square mile...

, Godwin attended common schools near his home and then Trinity College (later Duke University

Duke University

Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...

) in Durham

Durham, North Carolina

Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...

. He studied law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

.

After being admitted to the bar in 1896, he practiced in Dunn and was elected Dunn's mayor in 1897. In 1903, Godwin was sent to the North Carolina Senate

North Carolina Senate

The North Carolina Senate is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly.Its prerogatives and powers are similar to those of the other house, the House of Representatives. Its members do, however, represent districts that are larger than those of their colleagues in the House. The...

, and from 1904 to 1906, he sat on the executive committee of the North Carolina Democratic Party

North Carolina Democratic Party

The North Carolina Democratic Party is the North Carolina affiliate of the national Democratic Party in the United States. It is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. They are located in the historic Goodwin house which is located in the downtown area of Raleigh at 220 Hillsborough Street...

.

In 1906, Godwin was first elected to the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

; he would be re-elected six times, serving from March 4, 1907 to March 3, 1921. In Congress, he rose to chair the Committee on Reform in the Civil Service. He lost his Congressional race in 1920 and returned to the practice of law in Dunn, where he died in 1929; he is buried in Dunn's Greenwood Cemetery.