William Kenneth Davidson (June 30, 1904 – March 4, 1974) was an American restaurateur and Illinois politician. Davidson was born in

Toledo, Iowa Toledo is a city in, and the county seat of, Tama County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,369 at the time of the 2020 census. History Toledo was founded in 1853 as the county seat of Tama County. It was named after Toledo, Ohio. Tole ...

and attended Toledo public schools. Davidson went to Bradley University and then worked as a salesman in Illinois and Iowa. In 1931, he started Davidson's Restaurant in Kewanee, Illinois. Davidson was a member of the Illinois Restaurant Association and served as president of the association in 1947. Davidson served on the Kewanee City Council and was a Republican. He served in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

from 1957 to 1965 and from 1967 to 1969. Davidson then served in the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

from 1969 to 1973. Davidson died from a heart attack in a hospital in Aransas Pass, Texas, while on vacation with his wife.'Death Takes Davidson,' Dixon Evening Telegraph (Illinois), March 5, 1974, pg. 1

Notes

1904 births 1974 deaths People from Toledo, Iowa People from Kewanee, Illinois Businesspeople from Illinois Businesspeople from Iowa Bradley University alumni Illinois city council members Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Republican Party Illinois state senators 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople {{Illinois-politician-stub