William Lindsay 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...

 U.S. Senator from Kentucky from 1893 to 1901.

Born near Lexington, Virginia

Lexington, Virginia

Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...

, Lindsay attended the common schools and settled in Clinton, Kentucky

Clinton, Kentucky

Clinton is a city in Hickman County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,415 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Hickman County, and the site of a Federal Courthouse for the Western District of Kentucky....

 in 1854. There he taught school and studied law. He was admitted to the bar

Bar (law)

Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...

 and commenced practice in Clinton in 1858. During the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, Lindsay served in the infantry in the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 from July 1861 until May 1865, after which he resumed the practice of law in Clinton.

Linsay was a member of the Kentucky Senate

Kentucky Senate

The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators...

 from 1867 to 1870. He served as judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals

Kentucky Court of Appeals

The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky....

 from 1870 to 1878, and served as chief justice

Chief Justice

The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...

 of the court from 1876 to 1878. He then resumed the practice of law in Frankfort, Kentucky

Frankfort, Kentucky

Frankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...

. He again joined the Kentucky Senate, serving from 1889 to 1893. He then served as United States Commissioner to the World's Columbian Exposition

World's Columbian Exposition

The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...

, held at Chicago, Illinois, in 1893.

Lindsay was elected to the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of John G. Carlisle. He was reelected, and served in total from February 15, 1893, until March 3, 1901, and chaired the Committee on Indian Depredations

United States Senate Committee on Indian Depredations

The Committee on Indian Depredations was a standing committee of the United States Senate from 1893 to 1921. It was superseded by a select committee which operated from 1889 to 1895.- History :...

 and the Committee on Revolutionary Claims. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1900, but instead moved to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and practiced law. He was appointed United States Commissioner to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition

Louisiana Purchase Exposition

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the Saint Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States in 1904.- Background :...

 at St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, in 1901. He died in Frankfort, and was interred in the State Cemetery.

Further reading