William Ledyard Stark (July 29, 1853 – November 11, 1922) was an American Populist Party politician. Born in

Mystic, Connecticut Mystic is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in Groton, Connecticut, Groton and Stonington, Connecticut, United States. Historically, Mystic was a significant Connecticut seaport with more than 600 ships built over 135 years starting in ...

on July 29, 1853, Stark moved to

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, in 1872. He taught school and worked as a clerk at a store. He attended

Union College of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law sch ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

by the Supreme Court of Illinois in January 1878. Stark moved to

Aurora, Nebraska Aurora is a city in Hamilton County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,479 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Hamilton County. History In 1861, David Millspaw became the first permanent settler in the area of what was to ...

, in February 1878, serving as superintendent of city schools in Aurora. He became deputy district attorney and then judge of the Hamilton County Court in Hamilton County, Nebraska. He served in the Nebraska

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

as a major and Judge Advocate General. He ran for 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

in 1895 and 1897 as a

Populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

, losing the first time and before being elected to the

55th United States Congress The 55th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1897, to M ...

on his second attempt . He was reelected to the 56th and 57th Congresses, serving from March 4, 1897 to March 3, 1903. Stark ran for the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

as a Fusionist in 1902, but lost. After leaving office in 1903, he retired to Aurora. Stark died in

Tarpon Springs, Florida Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 23,484 at the 2010 census. Tarpon Springs has the highest percentage of Greek Americans of any city in the US. Downtown Tarpon Springs has long been a focal po ...

on November 11, 1922. He is buried in the city cemetery in Aurora.

References

# * * 1853 births 1922 deaths People from Mystic, Connecticut People's Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska Nebraska Populists People from Aurora, Nebraska People from Wyoming, Illinois Nebraska National Guard personnel Illinois lawyers Nebraska lawyers Nebraska state court judges Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni 19th-century American lawyers Members of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska {{Nebraska-politician-stub