William A. Clark

William A. Clark

William Andrews Clark (born January 8, 1839 near Connellsville , Pennsylvania , † March 2, 1925 in New York City , New York ) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ). He represented the state of Montana in the US Senate .

Professional career

Clark attended Laurel Hill Public Schools and Academy . He moved to Iowa with his parents in 1856 , where he taught. At the same time he studied law at Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant . After working in the quartz mines near Central City , Colorado in 1862 , a year later he moved to Bannack , Montana, where he wanted to benefit from the boom in gold panning for two years . He then directed his activities in the trade in Blackfoot and Helena and became bankers in Deer Lodge .

In the United States Army he was a major in a battalion and in 1877 pursued Chief Joseph and his gang of Nez Percé into the Bear Paw Mountains .

Political career

William A. Clark became president of the first constituent assembly of Montana in 1884 and the second in 1889. He was elected to the Senate as a member of the Democrats on March 4, 1899 , but did not take office until December 4, 1899. As early as May 15, 1900, he resigned his office because he was accused of electoral fraud and wanted to forestall a threatened expulsion. Clark himself was proposed by his party for the vacated seat, but was then unable to move up. In the 1901 elections he was properly elected to the Senate and represented his state from March 4, 1901 to March 3, 1907. He then no longer stood for re-election.

Clark focused again on panning for gold, on the bank and his railroad interests and from then on lived in New York City , where he died on May 2, 1925. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery .

According to him, Clark County named in Nevada.

Art collection

On June 5, 2013, part of the Clarks art collection was auctioned at Sotheby’s auction house in New York City. The 270 × 200 cm Clark Sickle Leaf Carpet , probably a Kerman , from the 17th century achieved a buyer's premium of US $ 33.8 million. This is the highest price ever achieved for a carpet and at the same time the highest auction price for an Islamic work of art.

family

Clark's heiress was Huguette M. Clark , born in 1906, who died in New York City on May 24, 2011 at the age of 104. Clark's nephew Walter Miller Clark was killed in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 .

Web links

• William A. Clark in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)