John William Davis was born in Clarksburg on April 13, 1873. He served in the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia's First District, was the United States Solicitor General under President Woodrow Wilson, and was the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom. In 1924 he was the Democratic nominee for president, but lost to Republican incumbent Calvin Coolidge. He remains the only major party presidential candidate from West Virginia. He had a 60-year legal career and argued more than 140 cases before the United States Supreme Court. He was married twice and had one daughter, Julia McDonald Davis. He was also the cousin and adoptive father of Cyrus Vance, another famous resident of Clarksburg. John W. Davis died on March 24, 1955.