Edwin Van Meter Champion (September 18, 1890 – February 11, 1976) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Born in

Mansfield, Illinois Mansfield is a village in Piatt County, Illinois in the United States. The population was 906 at the 2010 census. History Mansfield was originally incorporated around 1870. The village may have been named for John Mansfield, an officer in the Ci ...

, Champion attended the public schools. He was graduated from the law department of the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

, 1912. 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 practice in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

. During the

First World War 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 ...

, Champion entered the Officers' Training Camp at

Fort Sheridan, Illinois Fort Sheridan is a residential neighborhood within the cities of Lake Forest, Highwood, and Highland Park in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It was originally established as Fort Sheridan, an Army post named after Civil War cavalry ge ...

, on May 15, 1917. He was commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to service overseas with the Three Hundred and Forty-first Infantry, Company C, Eighty-sixth Division. He was discharged with rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on February 6, 1919. Champion served as assistant State's attorney of

Peoria County, Illinois Peoria County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States census listed its population at 181,830. Its county seat is Peoria, Illinois, Peoria. Peoria County is part of the Peoria metropolitan area. History Peoria County w ...

, in 1919 and 1920 and as State's attorney from 1932 to 1936. He served as president of the Illinois State's Attorneys' Association in 1935. Champion 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Seventy-fifth Congress (January 3, 1937 – January 3, 1939). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1938 to the Seventy-sixth Congress. After leaving Congress, he resumed the practice of law in

, where he died on February 11, 1976. He was buried in Springdale Mausoleum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champion, Edwin Van Meter 1890 births 1976 deaths People from Piatt County, Illinois Politicians from Peoria, Illinois District attorneys in Illinois United States Army officers Illinois lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois United States Army personnel of World War I University of Illinois College of Law alumni 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives