William Wright Arnold (October 14, 1877 – November 23, 1957) was an American politician and jurist, serving as a

U.S. 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 c ...

from

Illinois 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 Rockf ...

and a judge of the

United States Tax Court The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a federal trial court of record established by Congress under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, section 8 of which provides (in part) that the Congress has the power to "constitute Tr ...

Life and career

Born in

Oblong, Illinois Oblong is a village in Crawford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,466 at the 2010 census, and then was later recorded to be 1,371 in the 2020 census. History Oblong was incorporated in 1883. The original town site was on a nat ...

, Arnold attended the country schools of his native county and Austin College,

Effingham, Illinois Effingham is a city in and the county seat of Effingham County, Illinois, United States. It is in South Central Illinois. Its population was 12,252 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Effingham, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. The ...

. He graduated from the law department of the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

in 1901. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

the same year and commenced the practice of law in

Robinson, Illinois Robinson is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,713 at the 2010 census, up from 6,822 in 2000. Geography Robinson is in the center of Crawford County at . Illinois Route 33 passes thro ...

. He was continuously engaged in the practice of his chosen profession until elected to Congress. Arnold 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 Sixty-eighth and to the six succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1923, until his resignation, effective September 16, 1935, having been appointed July 29, 1935, a member of the United States Board of Tax Appeals (which became the

during his service). He was reappointed in 1944 and served until his retirement June 30, 1950. He owned and operated two large farms. He served as director of the Second National Bank, Farmers and Producers Bank, and the First National Bank of Robinson.

Death

He died in

on November 23, 1957. He was interred in New Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, William Wright 1877 births 1957 deaths Judges of the United States Tax Court United States Article I federal judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt 20th-century American judges Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois People from Crawford County, Illinois University of Illinois College of Law alumni Members of the United States Board of Tax Appeals