William Richard JOHNSON, Congress, IL (1875-1938)

JOHNSON William Richard , a Representative from Illinois; born in Rock Island, Ill., May 15, 1875; moved with his parents to Freeport, Ill., in 1879; attended the public schools and the College of Commerce at Freeport; served from 1890 to 1894 as an apprentice and from 1894 to 1899 as a locomotive blacksmith in the Illinois Central Railroad shops at Freeport; member of the United States Capitol police force 1901-1919; appointed superintendent of the folding room of the House of Representatives on June 18, 1919, and served until March 3, 1925, when he resigned; elected as a Republican to the Sixty-ninth and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1925-March 3, 1933); unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1932; returned to Freeport, Ill., where he died on January 2, 1938; interment in Oakland Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present