High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! John William Davis (April 13, 1873 – March 24, 1955) was an American politician, diplomat and lawyer. He served as a United States Representative from West Virginia (1911–1913), then as Solicitor General of the United States and US Ambassador to the UK under President Woodrow Wilson. Over a 60-year legal career, he argued 140 cases before the US Supreme Court.