BYNUM, William Dallas

BYNUM, William Dallas
Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
About this object
1846–1927

Biography

BYNUM, William Dallas, a Representative from Indiana; born near Newberry, Greene County, Ind., June 26, 1846; attended the country schools, and was graduated from the University of Indiana at Bloomington in 1869; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1872 and commenced practice in Washington, Ind.; served as the first city clerk; city attorney of Washington, Ind., 1871-1875; mayor of Washington, Ind., 1875-1879; moved from Daviess County to Indianapolis in 1880; member of the Indiana state house of representatives, 1881-1885, and served as speaker in 1885; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-ninth and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1885-March 3, 1895); served for some time as whip of the Democratic minority; censured by the U.S. House of Representatives on May 17, 1890, for the use of unparliamentary language; unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Fifty-fourth Congress in 1894; was active in the organization of the National (Gold-Standard) Democratic Party in 1896, and was chairman of its national committee, 1896-1898; settled in Washington, D.C.; appointed by President William McKinley to the commission to codify the United States criminal laws, 1900-1906; retired from the practice of law; died on October 21, 1927, in Indianapolis, Ind.; interment in Oak Grove Cemetery, Washington, Ind.

View Record in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

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External Research Collections

Library of Congress
Manuscript Division

Washington, DC
Papers: ca. 1894-1905, 500 items. The papers of William Dallas Bynum contain correspondence primarily relating to the National Democratic Party convention held in Indianapolis, Ind., prior to the U.S. presidential election of 1896, and to the party's support of the gold standard. Correspondents include Calvin Tomkins, Charles Tracey, Joseph E. Washington, and Thomas A. Wilson.
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Bibliography / Further Reading

Bynum, William D[allas]. Tariff. A revenue vs. a protective tariff. Indianapolis: W. B. Burford, printer, 1884.

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