William Brown McKinley (September 5, 1856 December 7, 1926) was a United States Representative from the State of Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. He was born near Petersburg, Illinois

Petersburg, Illinois

Petersburg is a city in Menard County, Illinois, on the bluffs and part of the floodplain overlooking the Sangamon River. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,299 at the 2000 census, and 2,185 at a 2009 estimate. It is the county seat of Menard...

.

After graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

, McKinley became a drug clerk in Springfield

Springfield, Illinois

Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...

. He returned to Champaign to become a banker. In 1902, he was elected a trustee of the university. McKinley ran for U.S. House of Representatives in 1905, winning his first of four consecutive terms. In 1913, he ran for the U.S. Senate against Lawrence Yates Sherman

Lawrence Yates Sherman

Lawrence Yates Sherman was a Republican politician from the State of Illinois. He served as United States Senator, Lieutenant Governor, and as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives....

 and lost.

He ran for Congress again in 1914 and won, serving from 1915 until 1921. In 1920, McKinley ran against Sherman for the Senate, this time winning. In 1926, he ran for re-election and lost to Frank L. Smith

Frank L. Smith

Frank Leslie Smith was an Illinois politician. He served as a United States Congressman from 1919 to 1921. He was elected by the people of Illinois to the United States Senate in 1926, but the Senate never allowed him to take his seat.He first ran for the Republican nomination for the U.S....

 (who ultimately was denied the seat by the Senate on the grounds of fraud and corruption in his campaign), but died on December 7, 1926, aged 70, shortly before his term would have ended.

McKinley was also chief executive of the Illinois Traction System. The McKinley Bridge

McKinley Bridge

The McKinley Bridge is a steel truss bridge across the Mississippi River. It connects northern portions of the city of St. Louis, Missouri with Venice, Illinois. It opened in 1910 and was taken out of service on October 30, 2001. The bridge was reopened for pedestrian and bicyclists on November 17,...

 between Venice, Illinois

Venice, Illinois

Venice is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,528 at the 2000 census.The Venice Power Station, a combustion turbine generator -type Ameren power plant, is located in Venice.-Geography:...

 and St Louis, Missouri was named for him. The McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is also named for him.

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