William Richard Ratchford (May 24, 1934 – January 2, 2011) was an American politician from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. He served six terms in the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with each ...

, including two as speaker, and three terms 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 ...

. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life

He was born in

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2020 was 86,518. It is the third-largest city in Western Connecticut, and the seventh-largest ...

. In 1952, Ratchford graduated from Danbury High School in

. In 1956, he received a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

, Storrs, where he was a member of

Chi Phi Chi Phi () is considered by some as the oldest American men's college social fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The earliest of these organizations was forme ...

fraternity. In 1959, he graduated with his J.D. from

Georgetown Law School Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment, with over ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He served in the

Connecticut National Guard The Connecticut Military Department is a state agency of the government of Connecticut. Its primary components are the Connecticut Army National Guard, the Connecticut Air National Guard, and four companies of the state militia. The Military D ...

from 1959 to 1965. Ratchford was admitted to the Connecticut bar in 1959 and commenced practice in Danbury, in 1960.

Political career

He was elected to the

in 1962. In 1969, he became the speaker a post that he held until 1972. In

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, he ran for Congress from the 5th congressional district, but lost to

Ronald A. Sarasin Ronald Arthur Sarasin (December 31, 1934 – March 27, 2023) was an American lawyer, Navy veteran, and politician from Connecticut. He served two terms in the Connecticut House of Representatives and three terms as a United States House of Repre ...

. After his defeat, he served as

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Committee on Nursing Homes from 1975 to 1976, and as Commissioner on Aging from 1977 to 1978. He served as a delegate to the Connecticut State Democratic conventions from 1960 to 1974, and as a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

Congress

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, he made a second run for Congress for the seat that Sarasin vacated to run for governor. He defeated State Senator George Guidera by 8,273 votes. He won re-election in 1980 and 1982. In

, he was defeated by future Connecticut Governor

John G. Rowland John Grosvenor Rowland (born May 24, 1957) is an American former politician, author, and radio host who served as the 86th governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004. Rowland served three terms representing Connecticut's 5th congressional distri ...

as Ronald Reagan’s landslide re-election boosted Republicans.

Congress

After leaving Congress, he taught at his alma mater, Georgetown University, and worked as a lobbyist. He later was the Associate Administrator in the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. General Services Administration from 1993 to 2001.

Death

He died on January 2, 2011, aged 76, from complications of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. He had been a long-time resident of

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratchford, William Richard 1934 births 2011 deaths Politicians from Danbury, Connecticut University of Connecticut alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni Democratic Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Politicians from Arlington County, Virginia Speakers of the Connecticut House of Representatives Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut Danbury High School alumni Members of Congress who became lobbyists 20th-century Connecticut politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly