William Dennison STEPHENS, Congress, CA (1859-1944)

STEPHENS, William Dennison, a Representative from California; born in Eaton, Preble County, Ohio, December 26, 1859; attended the public schools and was graduated from Eaton High School; taught country school; studied law; engaged in the construction and operation of railroads in Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, and Louisiana 1880-1887; moved to Los Angeles, Calif., in 1887; engaged in the wholesale and retail grocery business 1888-1909; was a member of the board of education in 1906; major and commissary of the First Brigade, California National Guard, 1904-1914; president of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce in 1907; mayor of Los Angeles in 1909; elected as a Republican to the Sixty-second Congress; reelected to the Sixty-third Congress and reelected as a Progressive to the Sixty-fourth Congress and served from March 4, 1911, to July 22, 1916, when he resigned, having been appointed Lieutenant Governor of California; served as Lieutenant Governor from January 2 to March 15, 1917, when he became Governor; Governor of California 1917-1923; was admitted to the bar in 1920; resided in Los Angeles, Calif., until his death on April 25, 1944; interment in Rosedale Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present