William Chapman Revercomb (July 20, 1895October 6, 1979) was an American politician and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

. A Republican, he served two separate terms in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

representing the state of

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

Life and career

Revercomb was born in Covington, Virginia, the son of Elizabeth Forrer (Chapman) and George Anderson Revercomb. He attended

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

before entering the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

where he served as a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

. Returning from the war, he transferred to the law school at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, graduating in 1919. He practiced law in Covington for a few years before moving to Charleston, West Virginia, in 1922. He was elected to the Senate in 1942. There he championed opposition to the foreign and domestic policies of the administration of Harry S. Truman and was a stalwart supporter of

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

. In 1945, Revercomb was among the seven senators who opposed full United States entry into the

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. Revercomb was defeated for re-election in 1948 and for the state's other Senate seat in 1952. In both races, his support of the national Republican party's civil rights policies were major issues. In 1956, he won a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Harley M. Kilgore, his Democratic opponent in the 1952 election. He re-entered the Senate and served through the end of 1958. During his second tenure in the Senate, Revercomb voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. In 1958, he lost to Congressman Robert Byrd in a landslide. In his re-election bid in another racially charged election (Byrd held the seat until his death in 2010, becoming the first U.S. senator to serve uninterrupted for more than 50 years). He then lost the Republican nomination for

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

in 1960 and retired from politics. He practiced law in Charleston until his death in 1979. Final resting place: Sunset Memorial Park, South Charleston, West Virginia. Revercomb was the last Republican to represent West Virginia in the Senate (his 1956–1959 term) until the inauguration of

Shelley Moore Capito Shelley Wellons Moore Capito ( ; born November 26, 1953) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from West Virginia. A member of the ...

in 2015.

References

External links

* West Virginia & Regional History Center at West Virginia University
Chapman Revercomb, Politician, Biography
Retrieved on 2009-5-18 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Revercomb, William Chapman 1895 births 1979 deaths Candidates in the 1944 United States presidential election United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army non-commissioned officers American Presbyterians West Virginia lawyers West Virginia Republicans Republican Party United States senators from West Virginia People from Covington, Virginia 20th-century West Virginia politicians 20th-century American lawyers Lawyers from Charleston, West Virginia Politicians from Charleston, West Virginia Washington and Lee University alumni Military personnel from Virginia 20th-century United States senators