William Littleton Harris (1807–1868) was a prominent southern lawyer and judge. Before that, he was a child prodigy. Born in Georgia, he attended the University of Georgia at the age of fifteen, studied law, and was admitted to the bar while he was still underage. In 1837 he removed to Mississippi, where he established a highly successful law practice. By 1853 he had become so well known and well connected that he was named to the circuit court of Mississippi, and in 1858 he was appointed to the Mississippi Supreme Court (then known as the Mississippi High Court of Errors and Appeals). He became so respected nationally that in 1860 President James Buchanan offered him an appointment to the United States Supreme Court. Harris declined.