Harry B. Davis was born on July 24, 1893, in Princess Anne County, Virginia, to Ida (née Fisk) and Samuel Jefferson Davis.
He studied at Norfolk Academy and Hampden-Sydney College.
[1][2] He also studied law at Norfolk College (later Old Dominion University).
[1] He organized and served as president of the Truckers Cold Storage Corporation around 1928.
[3] Davis defeated F. O. Gaither in 1933 to serve in the Virginia House of Delegates.