William L. Frierson

Who was William L. Frierson?

William Little Frierson was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. During his career he served as the United States Solicitor General, United States Assistant Attorney General, and mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Frierson was born on September 3, 1868, in Shelbyville, Tennessee to Robert Payne and Mary Frierson. He graduated in 1887 from Southern Presbyterian University in Clarksville, Tennessee. In 1929, Frierson received an honorary law degree from Southwestern Law School in Memphis, Tennessee. He began practicing law in his hometown of Shelbyville in 1889. The following year he moved to Chattanooga, where he worked in various law firms until 1917.

Frierson held a variety of local government positions before being appointed United States Solicitor General. In 1905, Frierson was elected mayor of Chattanooga and held that position until 1907. He served as city attorney from 1912-1915. Subsequently, Frierson was named a special justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1916. In 1917, Frierson was appointed United States Assistant Attorney General, a position he held until 1920.