 William H. Hardy

William H. Hardy (1837−1917) founded the cities of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Laurel, Mississippi, and Gulfport, Mississippi.Born to Robert W. and Temperance L. (Toney) Hardy in Todds Hill (in Lowndes County, Alabama) on 12 February 1837, William Harris Hardy attended country schools and eventually Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee for three years, withdrawing before graduation due to contraction of pneumonia.