William Lester Nelson (August 4, 1875 – December 31, 1946) was an American farmer and politician from

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

. He represented

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for several terms: 1919–1921, 1925–1933 and 1935–1943.

Biography

Nelson was born on a farm near

Bunceton, Missouri Bunceton is a city in Cooper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 354 at the 2010 census. History Bunceton was laid out and platted in 1868. The city was named for Harvey Bunce, an early county resident. A post office has been in ...

on August 4, 1875. He attended the local schools, the Hooper Institute in

Clarksburg, Missouri Clarksburg is a city in Moniteau County, Missouri, United States. The population was 334 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jefferson City, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office called Clarksburg has been in operatio ...

William Jewell College William Jewell College is a private liberal arts college in Liberty, Missouri. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and endowed with $10,000 by William Jewell. It was associated with the Missouri Baptist Conventi ...

, and the Missouri College of Agriculture. He taught school for five years and then became involved with his brothers in operating and editing a county newspaper in Bunceton. A Democrat, he served in the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

from 1901 to 1903 and 1905 to 1907. Nelson moved to

to accept appointment as Assistant Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, a position he held from 1908 to 1918. Nelson also operated his own farm and authored articles for several agricultural publications. In 1918, Nelson was the successful Democratic nominee for a seat in the U.S. House, and he served in the

66th United States Congress The 66th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1919, to Ma ...

, March 4, 1919, to March 3, 1921. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1920, after which he was on the editorial staff of the ''Iowa Homestead'', a major farming magazine. In 1924, he ran successfully for the U.S. House. He was reelected three times, and served in the 69th, 70th, 71st, and 72nd Congresses (March 4, 1925 to March 3, 1933). He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1932, and again returned to farming and writing in Columbia. In 1934, he was again elected to the U.S. House. He was reelected three times, and served in the 74th, 75th, 76th and 77th Congresses (January 3, 1935 to January 3, 1943). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1942. After leaving Congress in 1943 Nelson served as Assistant to J. Marvin Jones, the federal War Food Administrator during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Later in 1943, Nelson returned to Columbia, where he lived in retirement. Nelson died in Columbia on December 31, 1946, and was buried at Columbia Cemetery.

References

External links

*
William L. Nelson
in ''Annual Report of the Missouri State Board of Agriculture for 1911'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, William L. 1875 births 1946 deaths Burials at Columbia Cemetery (Columbia, Missouri) Politicians from Columbia, Missouri Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri 20th-century American newspaper editors American magazine editors Farmers from Missouri People from Cooper County, Missouri