James D. Hays was a Madison County, Alabama, banker, farmer and landowner. He was born at the family farm at Haysland in south Huntsville in 1909. He earned a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Alabama, and was awarded an honorary doctorate of law from the University of Alabama in 1977 and later an honorary doctorate degree from Auburn University. Hays was involved in the Farm Bureau on the county and then state level. From 1961 until 1976 he served as president of the Alabama Farm Bureau Federation. He was also a member of numerous civic and community institutions, organizations, and involvements which included the Huntsville Industrial Associates, the Alabama Heritage Trust Fund, the Alabama Trust Fund in Montgomery, the Airport Authority, and was a longtime member of Central Presbyterian Church of Huntsville. Hays was a founding director of Compass Bank and played a key role in the creation and merger of State National Bank and Central Bank. He died on April 4, 1998, at the age of 88 years.