Source: William Alexander Graham
William Alexander Graham, State Capitol, Raleigh
This bust of William A Graham sits in the rotunda of the North Carolina Capitol. Graham is portrayed realistically, clothed in the dress of his time in a high-collared shirt with a jacket and elegant tie.
WILLIAM A GRAHAM / 1804 - 1875
January 12, 1910
35.780610 , -78.639190
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Bishir, Catherine W. "State Capitol Memorials," from “Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina”, http://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/, (accessed May 16, 2012) Link
Grimes, J. Bryan. "Why North Carolina Should Erect and Preserve Memorials and Mark Historic Places: Address Before the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, Raleigh, N.C., November 4, 1909," ([Raleigh, NC: The News and Observer, 1909]), (accessed May 18, 2012) Link
Grimes, John Bryan. Addresses at the Unveiling of the Bust of William A. Graham, (Raleigh, NC: Edwards & Broughton Printing Company, 1910), (accessed February 8, 2012) Link
McGehee, Montford. "Life and Character of Hon. William A. Graham. A Memorial Oration by Montford McGehee, Esq., Delivered Before the Bench and Bar of the Supreme Court, In the Hall of the House of Representatives, In Raleigh, June 8, 1876," (Raleigh, NC: News Job Office and Book Bindery, 1877), (accessed May 29, 2012) Link
North Carolina Historical Commission. Addresses at the Unveiling of the Bust of William A. Graham by the North Carolina Historical Commission in the Rotunda of the State Capitol Delivered in the Hall of the House of Representatives, January 12, 1910, (Raleigh, NC: Edwards & Broughton Printing Co., 1910), (accessed May 15, 2012) Link
Williams, Max R. "William Alexander Graham, 5 Sept. 1804-11 Aug. 1875," Documenting the American South (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography edited by William S. Powell), (accessed February 22, 2012) Link
Yes
Marble
North Carolina Historical Commission
$1000
Speeches were given by Frank Nash and Thomas W. Mason. Unveiled by William A. Graham Junior, the Fourth. The introductory address was delivered by J. Bryan Grimes.
William Alexander Graham was born in Lincoln County in 1804 to Revolutionary War veteran Joseph Graham and his wife, Isabella. William Graham attended the University of North Carolina and later studied with acclaimed attorney and jurist Thomas Ruffin. Graham became a successful lawyer and enjoyed a long career in public service, serving first in the House of Commons of Orange County and later as a United States Senator. Graham was elected Governor of North Carolina in 1845. Millard Fillmore appointed Graham Secretary of the Navy in July 1850. He later served as a state congressman and a Confederate senator.
[Additional information from NCpedia editors at the State Library of North Carolina: This person enslaved and owned other people. Many Black and African people, their descendants, and some others were enslaved in the United States until the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in 1865. It was common for wealthy landowners, entrepreneurs, politicians, institutions, and others to enslave people and use enslaved labor during this period. To read more about the enslavement and transportation of African people to North Carolina, visit https://aahc.nc.gov/programs/africa-carolina-0. To read more about slavery and its history in North Carolina, visit https://www.ncpedia.org/slavery. - Government and Heritage Library, 2023.]
The bust is located in the North Carolina Sate Capitol building in the rotunda on the first floor of the building in Raleigh, NC.
The bust sits in a niche inside the rotunda. The interior of the rotunda houses other State Capitol memorials including statuary, paintings, and plaques commemorating significant events and individuals in North Carolina's history. A 1970 copy of Antonio Canova's original statue of George Washington stands in the center.
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