William Robert Roy (February 23, 1926 – May 26, 2014), also known as Bill Roy, was a

United States 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 ...

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 ...

, a physician, and a columnist for ''

The Topeka Capital-Journal ''The Topeka Capital-Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Topeka, Kansas, owned by Gannett. History The paper was formed following numerous name changes and mergers, including the merger of ''The Topeka Daily Capital'' and ''The Topeka State Jou ...

''. He was the Democratic nominee for U.S Senator of Kansas in the 1974 and 1978 senate elections, but lost both races.

Early life and career

Roy was born in Bloomington, Illinois, and attended the public schools in nearby Lexington and earned a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

from

Illinois Wesleyan University 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 Rockford ...

in 1945, followed by a B.M. from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Medical School in

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

in 1948. He received an

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

from Northwestern in 1949 as well as a J.D. from

Washburn University Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,100 ...

Law School in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

, in 1970. He did his obstetrics and gynecology

residency Residency may refer to: * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place ** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship * Residency (medicine), a stage of postgra ...

Detroit Receiving Hospital Detroit Receiving Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, is the state's first Level I Trauma Center. Receiving's emergency department treats more than 105,000 patients annually, and nearly 60% of Michigan's emergency physicians are trained at Receiving. ...

. Roy served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

from 1953 to 1955, and was a military doctor at

Forbes Air Force Base ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also rep ...

in Topeka; he was

discharged Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

with the rank of captain. He practiced medicine in Topeka from 1955 to 1970 Roy was elected 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 ...

to the Ninety-second and Ninety-third Congresses (January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1975). He changed his registration in 1970 to run as a

. He did not run for reelection to the House in 1974, but instead ran for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. In a bitter race, he lost to incumbent Senator Bob Dole only by a few thousand votes, which was the closest margin of Dole's congressional career. In a 1996 interview with

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

, he explained his decision to seek election to the Senate, saying, "I was far from an admirer of Bob Dole, I'll tell you that. He'd been around and he had been pretty much a hatchet man, both in Kansas, and as far as President Nixon was concerned. And so I saw it as a wonderful opportunity to take him out of politics, which I thought was very important at that time." He ran for the U.S. Senate again in 1978 but lost to

Nancy Kassebaum Nancy Jo Kassebaum Baker (née Landon; born July 29, 1932) is an American politician who represented the State of Kansas in the United States Senate from 1978 to 1997. She is the daughter of Alf Landon, who was Governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1 ...

. He resumed the practice of medicine in Topeka until 1989. He sought a rematch with Kassebaum in 1990 and won the Democratic primary, but dropped out of the race, citing personal issues. His replacement was runner-up Dick Williams. In addition to his political races, Roy served as a member of the

Kansas Board of Regents The Kansas Board of Regents is a body consisting of nine members that governs six state universities in the U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political ...

. Since 1989, Roy was a regular columnist for ''

''. His columns often reflected a liberal perspective, including support for

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

and opposition to the policies of President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. His 2001–2002 columns in ''The Topeka Metro News'' rallied sentiment to stop the sale of Kansas

Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBS, BCBSA) is a federation, or supraorganization, of, in 2022, 34 independent and locally operated BCBSA companies that provide health insurance in the United States to more than 106 million people. It was ...

to Anthem of Indianapolis. Roy died in Topeka on May 26, 2014 of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

References

External links

Bill Roy's columns
(labeled as a "blog") on ''

'' website {{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, William R. 1926 births 2014 deaths Writers from Bloomington, Illinois American columnists American gynecologists American obstetricians United States Air Force officers Politicians from Topeka, Kansas Physicians from Kansas Illinois Wesleyan University alumni Washburn University School of Law alumni Feinberg School of Medicine alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas Writers from Topeka, Kansas 20th-century American politicians People from McLean County, Illinois Journalists from Illinois Military personnel from Illinois Members of the National Academy of Medicine Kansas Board of Regents Deaths from heart disease