William Richard Ratchford (May 24, 1934 – January 2, 2011) was an American politician from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. He served six terms in the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

, including two as speaker, and three terms 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. He was a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Early life

He was born in Danbury, Connecticut. In 1952, Ratchford graduated from Danbury High School in Danbury, Connecticut. In 1956, he received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

, Storrs, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity. In 1959, he graduated with his J.D. from

Georgetown Law School The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He served in the

Connecticut National Guard The Connecticut Military Department is a state agency of the government of Connecticut. Its primary components are the Connecticut Army National Guard, the Connecticut Air National Guard, and four companies of the state militia. The Military Dep ...

from 1959 to 1965. Ratchford was admitted to the Connecticut bar in 1959 and commenced practice in Danbury, in 1960.

Political career

He was elected to the

in 1962. In 1969, he became the

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

a post that he held until 1972. In 1974, he ran for Congress from the 5th congressional district, but lost to

Ronald A. Sarasin Ronald Arthur Sarasin (born December 31, 1934) is a former American politician from Connecticut. He served two terms in the Connecticut House of Representatives and three terms as a U.S. Representative. Early life and career Born in Fall River ...

. After his defeat, he served as chairman of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Committee on Nursing Homes from 1975 to 1976, and as Commissioner on Aging from 1977 to 1978. He served as a delegate to the Connecticut State Democratic conventions from 1960 to 1974, and as a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

Congress

In 1978, he made a second run for Congress for the seat that Sarasin vacated to run for Governor. He defeated State Senator George Guidera by 8,273 votes. He won re-election in 1980 and 1982. In

, he was defeated by future Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland as Ronald Reagan’s landslide re-election boosted Republicans.

Congress

After leaving Congress, he taught at his alma mater, Georgetown University, and worked as a lobbyist. He later was the Associate Administrator in the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. General Services Administration from 1993 to 2001.

Death

He died on January 2, 2011, aged 76, from complications of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. He had been a long-time resident of

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratchford, William Richard 1934 births 2011 deaths Politicians from Danbury, Connecticut University of Connecticut alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni Democratic Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives People from Arlington County, Virginia Speakers of the Connecticut House of Representatives Neurological disease deaths in Virginia Deaths from Parkinson's disease Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut 20th-century American politicians Danbury High School alumni Members of Congress who became lobbyists