William Kenton Tippen (6 September 1922 – 14 April 1994) was an American politician from Texas. Tippen was born on 6 September 1922 in

Brownwood, Texas Brownwood is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, Texas, United States. The population was 18,862 as of th2020 census Brownwood is in the Texas Hill Country and is home to Howard Payne University, which was founded in 1889. History ...

. When he was 12, his family moved to Abilene, where he graduated from Abilene High School. He then earned a bachelor's degree from

Hardin–Simmons University Hardin–Simmons University (HSU) is a private Baptist university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. History Hardin–Simmons University was founded as Abilene Baptist College in 189 ...

in 1943 and served in the

Counterintelligence Corps The Counter Intelligence Corps (Army CIC) was a World War II and early Cold War intelligence agency within the United States Army consisting of highly trained special agents. Its role was taken over by the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps in 1961 and ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, alongside the Fifth Army. Following his discharge from active duty in 1945, he enrolled at the

University of Texas Law School The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin, a public research university in Austin, Texas. According to Texas Law’s ABA disclosures, 87.20% of the Class of 2022 obtained full-time ...

and married Elsie Murphree in 1946. While pursuing his degree in law, which he completed in 1949, Tippen was elected to two full terms as a Democratic member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

from District 116. Tippen served as a state representative from 1947 to 1951. After stepping down at the end of his second consecutive term, he was elected to two terms each as Taylor County attorney and 104th District attorney. He founded a private legal practice in Abilene in 1956 and retired from his firm in 1988. Between 1959 and 1979, Tippen was a trustee of

. This stint included seven years as chairman of the board of trustees. In June 1972, Tippen won a special election for

District 24 A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...

, and replaced

David Ratliff David Wade Ratliff (20 April 1912 – 21 March 1995) was an American politician from Texas. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who lived in Stamford, Texas, he served his first term in the Texas House of Representatives as a legislator f ...

in office. Upon completing Ratliff's term in 1973, Tippen was appointed to a position on the

Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement or TCOLE, serves as the regulatory agency for all peace officers in Texas, which includes sheriffs and their deputies, constables and their deputies, police officers, marshals, troopers, Texas Rangers, ...

by governor

Dolph Briscoe Dolph Briscoe Jr. (April 23, 1923 – June 27, 2010) was an American rancher and businessman from Uvalde, Texas, who was the 41st governor of Texas between 1973 and 1979. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Because of his re-election fo ...

, which he held for six years. Tippen died on 14 April 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tippen, Bill People from Brownwood, Texas Democratic Party Texas state senators People from Abilene, Texas United States Army personnel of World War II University of Texas School of Law alumni Military personnel from Texas 1922 births 1994 deaths County district attorneys in Texas 20th-century American lawyers Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Hardin–Simmons University alumni 20th-century members of the Texas Legislature