William Hawkins Polk (1815-1862) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 6th congressional district of Tennessee. He was the brother of President James Polk, who had represented the same district when he had served in the United States Congress. William H. Polk was born in Maury County, Tennessee, on May 24, 1815. He attended the city schools of Columbia, and the University of North Carolina in 1832 and 1833. He graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1839, and commenced practice in Columbia. He was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1842 to 1845. He served as America's Minister to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (in present-day Italy) from March 13, 1845 to August 31, 1847. He served as major of the Third Dragoons in the Mexican War in 1847 and 1848.
He was elected as an Independent Democrat to the Thirty-second Congress, serving from March 4, 1851 to March 3, 1853. He afterward resumed the practice of law, and died in Nashville on December 16, 1862. He was interred in Greenwood Cemetery in Columbia.
This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
