Born: May 14, 1885, Greenville, Mississippi.
Died: January 21, 1942, Greenville, Mississippi.
Buried: Greenville Cemetery, Greenville, Mississippi.
William was the son of American senator LeRoy Percy and Camille Bourges.
He attended the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, and Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
He practiced law with his father for a while, and participated in the Commission for Relief in Belgium during World War I. He also served in the American army, was promoted to captain in the 37th Division in 1918, and received the French Croix de Guerre.
He returned to Greenville, Mississippi, after the war and wrote poetry. He is also remembered for his leadership during the Mississippi floods of 1927, and for his opposition to the Ku Klux Klan.