A. Andrew Torrence (June 8, 1902 – April 8, 1940) was an American lawyer and politician. Born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Torrence went to

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic univer ...

Central YMCA College Central YMCA College was a college operated by the YMCA in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was founded prior to or in 1922. and was accredited in 1924. It was closed in 1945 after the university president and a large majority of the faculty and ...

Northwestern University School of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law scho ...

, and

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dist ...

. He practiced law in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and taught public speaking at the University of Chicago Law School. Torrence was an African-American and 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 again ...

. From 1939 until his death in 1940, Torrence served in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

. Torrence was stabbed and shot by Cecil Woodward, an African-American, in a campaign headquarters the day before the Illinois Primary Election. Woodward was upset about losing a precinct captain position. Woodward later died suddenly while being questioned in the state's attorney's office.'Chicagoan Dies After Killing of Negro Legislator,' Daily Hawk Eye Gazette (Burlington, Iowa), April 8, 1940, pg. 12

Notes

1902 births 1940 deaths Politicians from Baltimore Politicians from Chicago University of Detroit Mercy alumni Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni University of Chicago faculty Illinois lawyers African-American state legislators in Illinois Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives People murdered in Illinois 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American lawyers 20th-century Illinois politicians {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-stub