![]() ![]() … He had that gorgeous sense of humor that would just crack you up … He was so captivating that he didn’t have to work hard to hold your attention, really.” In a taped interview, Byrd recalled, “He was very informal in his attire as well as his manner, but he was very structured. “He was just so natural,” said Winnie Byrd, a student in the 1940s. Those who were not so lucky often gathered in the hallway outside the classroom, straining to catch the words as they fell from his lips. Students arranged their schedules around his classes on the Civil War and southern history. ![]() It wasn’t easy getting into a course taught by T. “He knew what he wanted to say, and he said it without missing a beat.” “Williams would engage his auditors with rapid-fire volleys in a conversational voice off the cuff without lectern, text, or notes,” recalled student Harold McSween. He was a Boyd Professor by 1953, and way before that he had students practically fighting to get into his classes. Williams had it all-meticulous attention to detail merged with the soul of a raconteur. A slight, balding, bespectacled man who puffed on a pipe, he nonetheless mesmerized students with his dramatic and witty accounts of moments long past. Harry Williams, who brought unaccustomed excitement to the history department from 1941 until 1979. If ever there was a legendary teacher at LSU, it was T. ![]() Williams, shown here with Senator Russell Long, used oral histories for his biography of Huey Long (seen in photograph). ![]()
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