William Aloysius Barrett was born on August 14, 1896, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Irish immigrants.

[1] He had thirteen siblings, and his father died when he was two years old, forcing his mother to scrub floors to support the family.

Later, he resumed his education, attending the Brown Preparatory School in Philadelphia and St. Joseph's College.

[5] Barrett ran in the January 1944 special election to succeed McGranery, but lost to Republican Joseph M.

[8][9][10][11] Barrett also introduced legislation to designate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. as a legal public holiday in January 1973, thirteen years before its first official observance in 1986.

[12] Due to his Catholic faith, Barrett was a strong opponent of abortion, unsuccessfully introducing a constitutional amendment to outlaw it in 1975.

Most days, after working on Capitol Hill, he would fly back to Philadelphia to see his constituents in the evening, the only congressman to do so.

"His interest in serving his constituents was unmatched," said Florida congressman Bob Sikes about Barrett.

After Barrett's death, rival ward leader Bill Black explained how influential he was, commenting "When I found out that a lot of my Republican committeemen had jobs through the Democratic party, then I knew why Bill Barrett was a giant in politics.

[19] As Barrett's time in office grew longer, the demographics of South Philadelphia neighborhoods changed.

House Speaker Carl Albert also praised Barrett highly, stating that "No problem was too small, none too difficult to resolve, for this dedicated and diligent servant of the people.

"[23] Barrett's funeral was held on April 14, 1976, at the Philadelphia Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.