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William F. Knowland

Republican

Picture of William F. Knowland
CA Blue Book
Date Party Office Votes Result
11-08-1932 Republican AD-14 14473 Win
11-06-1934 Republican SD-16 94236 Win
08-14-1945 Republican Senate1 0 Win
11-05-1946 Republican Senate1 1428067 Win
11-05-1946 Write-in Senate1 425273 Win
11-04-1952 Republican Senate1 3982448 Win
11-04-1958 Republican Governor 2110911 Loss
Website: bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=K000292
 

Candidate Biography:

Born: June 26, 1908 in Alameda, CA
Son of Joseph Russell Knowland
Married: Helen Davis Herrick (in 1926), Ann Dickson
Children: Emelyn K. Jewett, Joseph William Knowland*, and Estelle Knowland
Died: February 23, 1974 near Guerneville, CA

1938-1942: Member, Republican National Committee from California
1940-1942: Executive Committee Chairman, Republican National Committee
1953-1955: United States Senate Majority Leader
1955-1959: United States Senate Minority Leader

  • Knowland was the youngest member of the Assembly in 1932 at age 24.
  • Knowland was the youngest member of the State Senate in 1934 at age 26.
  • LEGISLATION: Assemblyman Knowland authored the 1933 bill which made posession of a silencer for use on firearms a felony.
  • As the Senate Majority Leader, Knowland was the highest ranking Californian member of Congress in history until the election of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2006.
  • His son, Joseph William Knowland, was a Republican primary candidate for US Senate in 1986. He lost, receiving 1.8%.
  • SUICIDE: Knowland killed himself with a single shot from a .32 Colt automatic on the dock at his home on the Russian River.

Source: California Blue Book (1938)
Source: "Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present" (U.S. Library of Congress) [http://bioguide.congress.gov/]