William Alexander Ekwall (June 14, 1887 – October 16, 1956) was an American politician, lawyer, and journalist who served one term as a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

from

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

from 1935 to 1937. From 1942 to 1956, he served as a

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of the

United States Customs Court The United States Court of International Trade (case citations: Ct. Int'l Trade), or CIT, is a U.S. federal court that adjudicates civil actions arising out of U.S. customs and international trade laws. Seated in Lower Manhattan, New York City, ...

Education and career

Born in Ludington,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

to Alexander and Emilie Ekwall, both

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrants, Ekwall moved to Klamathon,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

with his parents in 1893. In 1902, the town of Klamathon was destroyed in a massive fire, and the Ekwalls eventually made their way to

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

in 1906. He attended the public schools and then the

University of Oregon School of Law The University of Oregon School of Law is a public law school in the U.S. state of Oregon. Housed in the Knight Law Center, it is Oregon's only state funded law school. The school, founded in 1884, is located on the University of Oregon campus i ...

, then located in Portland, graduating in 1912 with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

Lawyer

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 Portland in the firm Senn, Ekwall, and Recken. During

World War I 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 ...

, Ekwall served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

as a private in the Infantry, attending the Central Officers Training School in 1918. After his Army service, he worked in Portland as a municipal judge from 1922 through 1927, and as Judge of the circuit court for the fourth judicial district (

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The state's smallest and most populous county, it ...

), department 8 until 1935.

Congressional service

In 1934, Democrat Charles H. Martin, the incumbent

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

for

Oregon's 3rd congressional district Oregon's 3rd congressional district covers most of Multnomah County, including Gresham, Troutdale, and most of Portland east of the Willamette River (parts of Northwest and Southwest Portland lie in the 1st and 5th districts). It also in ...

in Portland, announced that he would run for

Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

. Ekwall ran for Martin's congressional seat as a Republican, winning the May primary election and facing Walter B. Gleason, who two years earlier, had lost the 1932 United States Senate election to

Frederick Steiwer Frederick Steiwer (October 13, 1883February 3, 1939) was an American politician and lawyer in the state of Oregon. A native of the state, he was county district attorney and member of the Oregon State Senate from eastern Oregon and a veteran o ...

. With several third-party candidates in the race, Ekwall earned a narrow 41%–38% plurality over Gleason and a seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

of the

74th United States Congress The 74th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 193 ...

. In Congress, Ekwall was known for a somewhat belligerent style. He once referred to Representative

Wright Patman John William Wright Patman (August 6, 1893 – March 7, 1976) was an American politician. First elected in 1928, Patman served 24 consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives for Texas's 1st congressional district from 1929 to ...

as a "

stool pigeon An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information inten ...

" and Representative

Marion Zioncheck Marion Anthony Zioncheck (born Marjan Antoni Zajaczek; December 5, 1900 – August 7, 1936) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1933 until his death. He represented as a Democrat ...

as a "jackass."

Defeat

Ekwall sought re-election in 1936. He was challenged by

Nan Wood Honeyman Nan Honeyman (née Wood; July 15, 1881 – December 10, 1970) was an American politician from the state of Oregon. A native of New York (state), New York, she was the daughter of author and attorney Charles Erskine Scott Wood. After growing up in ...

, a Portland community activist and family friend of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and Mrs. Roosevelt. Honeyman's aggressive door-to-door campaign, coupled with Roosevelt's landslide re-election, helped her defeat Ekwall, earning 51% of the vote to Ekwall's 33%. Following his loss, Ekwall returned to his Portland law practice, serving as a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

in 1940.

Federal judicial service

Ekwall was nominated by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

on January 19, 1942, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Walter Howard Evans. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on February 9, 1942, and received his commission on February 13, 1942. Ekwall was initially appointed as a Judge under Article I, but the court was raised to Article III status by

operation of law The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies wi ...

on July 14, 1956, and Ekwall thereafter served as an Article III Judge. His service terminated on October 16, 1956, due to his death.

Death and burial

Ekwall died while on vacation in Portland on October 16, 1956. He was interred in Portland Memorial Cemetery. Ekwall and his wife Lina and the couple had two daughters.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ekwall, William Alexander 1887 births 1956 deaths American people of Swedish descent Oregon state court judges Judges of the United States Customs Court University of Oregon School of Law alumni People from Ludington, Michigan People from Siskiyou County, California Politicians from Portland, Oregon United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Michigan United States Article I federal judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon Burials at Portland Memorial Mausoleum 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives