William Augustus Ayres (April 19, 1867 – February 17, 1952) was a Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

.

William A. Ayres was born in Elizabethtown, Illinois

Elizabethtown, Illinois

Elizabethtown is a village in Hardin County, Illinois, along the Ohio River. The population was 348 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Hardin County. It the location of the Rose Hotel, an Illinois state historic site built about 1830. The village of Elizabethtown was founded around...

. He moved with his parents to Sedgwick County, Kansas

Sedgwick County, Kansas

Sedgwick County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. The county's population was 498,365 for the 2010 census. The largest city and county seat is Wichita. The county was named after General John Sedgwick...

, in 1881. He attended the common schools and Garfield University in Wichita, Kansas

Wichita, Kansas

Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1893 and commenced practice in Wichita, Kansas

Wichita, Kansas

Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

. He was clerk of the Court of Appeals of Kansas from 1897 to 1901, and prosecuting attorney of Sedgwick County, Kansas

Sedgwick County, Kansas

Sedgwick County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. The county's population was 498,365 for the 2010 census. The largest city and county seat is Wichita. The county was named after General John Sedgwick...

, from 1906 to 1910.

Ayres was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-fourth

64th United States Congress

The Sixty-fourth 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, DC from March 4, 1915 to March 4, 1917, during the third and fourth...

, Sixty-fifth

65th United States Congress

The Sixty-fifth 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, DC from March 4, 1917 to March 4, 1919, during the fourth and fifth...

, and Sixty-sixth

66th United States Congress

The Sixty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1919 to March 4, 1921, during the last two years of...

 Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1920

United States House election, 1920

The U.S. House election, 1920 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1920 which coincided with the election of President Warren G. Harding....

 to the Sixty-seventh

67th United States Congress

The Sixty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1921 to March 4, 1923, during the first two years...

 Congress. He was elected to the Sixty-eighth

68th United States Congress

The Sixty-eighth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1923 to March 4, 1925, during the last months of...

 and to the five succeeding Congresses and served until his resignation effective August 22, 1934, having been appointed a member of the Federal Trade Commission

Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...

 on June 30, 1934, in which capacity he served until his death in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, in 1952. Interment in Old Mission Cemetery in Wichita, Kansas.