McKinley, William B.

Born: 1856-09-05 Petersburg, Illinois

Died: 1926-12-07 Indiana

Flourished: Champaign County, Illinois

William B. McKinley was a store clerk, banker, philanthropist, U.S. representative, and U.S. senator from Illinois. McKinley received his early education at local public schools before matriculating to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he spent two years. Returning to Sangamon County, Illinois, McKinley worked as a clerk in a drug store in Springfield. Moving back to Champaign, he engaged in banking with his uncle, James B. McKinley, and in the development and operation of public utilities. From 1902 to 1905, McKinley served as a trustee for the University of Illinois, and he also engaged in philanthropy. In 1904, he won election, as a Republican, to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving in the body from March 1905 to March 1913. McKinley was not a candidate for reelection in 1912. He again won election to the House in 1914. His second stint in the House lasted from March 1915 to March 1921. He did not run for reelection in 1920, having become a candidate for the U.S. Senate. He won election, again as a Republican, to the Senate, serving in that body from March 1921 until his death. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1926.

Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1996 (Alexandria, VA: CQ Staff Directories, 1997), 1495; Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Champaign County, ed. by Joseph O. Cunningham (Chicago: Munsell, 1905), 2:989-90; Blue Book of the State of Illinois, 1923-1924 (Springfield: Illinois State Journal, 1923), 72; Gravestone, Mount Hope Cemetery and Mausoleum, Urbana, IL.