(born 1941), U.S. minister and public official. William H. Gray, III, was born on Aug. 20, 1941, in Baton Rouge, La. He graduated from college in 1963 and became a Baptist minister. As a minister he was associated with Baptist churches in Philadelphia, Pa., and Montclair, N.J., and he succeeded his father and grandfather as pastor of the Bright Hope Baptist Church in Philadelphia in 1972. Gray was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1978 and in 1989 became majority whip. He also served on the House committees on the budget and foreign affairs and was vice-chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. As a congressman he worked for middle-of-the-road budget resolutions and coalitions that crossed racial and ideological lines. He was an advocate of aid for Africa, and he sponsored the African Development Foundation. Gray resigned from the House to become president of the United Negro College Fund in 1991.