William Francis James, more often known as W. Frank James, (May 23, 1873 – November 17, 1945) was a soldier and politician from the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

.

James was born in Morristown, New Jersey

Morristown, New Jersey

Morristown is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 18,411. It is the county seat of Morris County. Morristown became characterized as "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the...

 and moved with his parents to Hancock, Michigan

Hancock, Michigan

Hancock is a city in Houghton County; the northernmost in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on the Keweenaw Peninsula, or, depending on terminology, Copper Island. The population was 4,634 at the 2010 census...

, in 1876, where he attended the public schools. He attended Albion College

Albion College

Albion College is a private liberal arts college located in Albion, Michigan. Related to the United Methodist Church, it was founded in 1835 and was the first private college in Michigan to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. It has a student population of about 1500.The school's sports teams are...

 in Albion, Michigan

Albion, Michigan

Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The population was 9,144 at the 2000 census and is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, in 1890 and 1891.

James was treasurer of Houghton County, Michigan

Houghton County, Michigan

-National protected areas:* Keweenaw National Historical Park * Ottawa National Forest -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 36,016 people, 13,793 households, and 8,137 families residing in the county. The population density was 36 people per square mile . There were 17,748 housing...

, 1900-1904, and engaged in the real estate and insurance business. He served as a private in Company F of the Thirty-fourth Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry, during the Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

. He was a member of the board of aldermen of Hancock, 1906-1908, and was mayor of Hancock in 1908 and 1909. He was member of the Michigan Senate

Michigan Senate

The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. The Senate consists of 38 members, who are elected from constituencies having approximately 212,400 to 263,500 residents....

, 1910-1914.

In 1914, James defeated incumbent Democrat William J. MacDonald

William Josiah MacDonald

William Josiah MacDonald was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.MacDonald was born in Potosi, Wisconsin. He attended the common schools and graduated from the high school at Fairmont, Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis and Georgetown Law School in...

 to be elected as a Republican from Michigan's 12th congressional district

Michigan's 12th congressional district

Michigan's 12th congressional district is a United States Congressional District located in Detroit's inner suburbs to the north, along the Interstate 696 corridor in Macomb and Oakland counties, as well as a portion of Macomb north of the corridor....

 to the 64th United States Congress

64th United States Congress

The Sixty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1915 to March 4, 1917, during the third and fourth...

. He was subsequently re-elected to the nine succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1915 to January 3, 1935. He was chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs in the 71st Congress

71st United States Congress

The Seventy-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1929 to March 4, 1931, during the first two years...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1934 and 1936, losing both times to Democrat Frank E. Hook in the general election.

James died in Arlington, Virginia and was interred in Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...

.