Wint Smith (October 7, 1892 – April 27, 1976) was a

U.S. Representative 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 c ...

from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

from 1947 to 1961.

Biography

Born in

Mankato, Kansas Mankato is a city in and the county seat of Jewell County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 836. History Mankato was originally called Jewell Center, and under the latter name laid out in 1872. It w ...

, Smith attended a public school and graduated from Mankato High School. During the First World War he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

as a combat infantry officer from May 11, 1917, to September 4, 1919, with twenty-four months' service overseas. He attended the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

in 1920 and the

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...

in 1922. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1923 and commenced practice in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

. He was admitted to practice in all federal courts, including the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in 1934. From 1931 to 1940 he served as assistant attorney general and he was attorney for the Kansas Highway Commission from 1932 to 1940. In 1933, the

Kansas Legislature The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators. ...

authorized the Highway Commission to hire 10 motor vehicle inspectors, increasing this number to 26 by November 1933. The legislation authorizing these inspectors charged them with the duty to patrol state highways as much as possible. In 1935, Governor

Alfred Landon Alfred Mossman Landon (September 9, 1887October 12, 1987) was an American oilman and politician who served as the 26th governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's nominee in the 1936 presidential ele ...

issued orders to the inspectors to "curb banditry" as far as the law would permit. With Landon's support, and statewide police jurisdiction, the inspectors' war on crime began. Wint Smith, as chief of the legal department of the Highway Commission, served as director of the motor vehicle inspectors until the formation of the

Kansas Highway Patrol The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) is the highway patrol agency for the U.S. state of Kansas. While the patrol's primary focus is maintaining the safety of State, Federal and Interstate highways, it also is charged with providing support for rural a ...

in 1937. During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, from May 1941 to December 1945, he served as lieutenant colonel and was the commanding officer of the 635th Tank Destroyer Battalion, with twenty-two months' service overseas. When he retired, he was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. He later resumed the practicing of law. Smith was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the

80th United States Congress The 80th 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 January 3, 1947, ...

and to the six succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1961). Smith voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1960 to the Eighty-seventh Congress and was succeeded by fellow Republican Robert J. Dole of Russell. He subsequently returned to his home in Mankato and engaged in farming and ranching. He died in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

, April 27, 1976. He was interred in Mount Hope Cemetery,

References

Kansas Highway Patrol History

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Wint 1892 births 1976 deaths People from Mankato, Kansas Politicians from Kansas City, Kansas United States Army officers Yale Law School alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas 20th-century American politicians