William Dunlap Simpson (October 27, 1823December 26, 1890) was the 78th governor of South Carolina from February 26, 1879, when the previous governor, Wade Hampton, resigned to take his seat in the U.S. Senate, until 1880. That year Simpson resigned to become Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. Born in Laurens District, South Carolina, in 1823, he was educated at South Carolina College (later the University of South Carolina), completing his studies in 1843, and spent one term at Harvard Law School. He practiced law in Laurens with his partner (and father-in-law) Henry Clinton Young. As of 1860, Simpson enslaved 31 people at his properties in Laurens. He served in the South Carolina legislature in the 1850s and early 1860s, and in the Confederate States House of Representatives from 1863 to 1865. After the Civil War, Simpson returned to practice law in Laurens until 1876, when he ran successfully for the post of lieutenant governor. That year Democrats regained control of the state legislature and the governorship. He was re-elected in 1878. Upon Wade Hampton resigning from the governorship to assume his US Senate seat (to which he was elected by the state legislature), Simpson was elevated to become the 78th governor of South Carolina. In 1880 he resigned after being appointed Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court. He served for ten years from 1880 until his death in 1890. He is buried at the Laurens City Cemetery. Legacy and honors The William Dunlap Simpson House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. References External links SCIway Biography of William Dunlap Simpson NGA Biography of William Dunlap Simpson Simpson's papers at the University of North Carolina Pictures of William Dunlap Simpson home Laurens, S.C. 1823 births 1890 deaths Harvard Law School alumni University of South Carolina alumni Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from South Carolina 19th-century American politicians Democratic Party governors of South Carolina University of South Carolina trustees Chief Justices of the South Carolina Supreme Court People from Laurens, South Carolina 19th-century American judges