William J. Randall

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title: "William J. Randall" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1909-births", "2000-deaths", "politicians-from-independence,-missouri", "university-of-missouri-alumni", "university-of-missouri–kansas-city-alumni", "missouri-lawyers", "democratic-party-united-states-representatives-from-missouri", "20th-century-american-lawyers", "20th-century-united-states-representatives"] description: "American politician" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Randall" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	William J. Randall
image name	William Randall.png
image_size	180px
state	Missouri
district	4th
party	Democratic
term_start	March 3, 1959
term_end	January 3, 1977
preceded	George H. Christopher
succeeded	Ike Skelton
birth_date
birth_place	Independence, Missouri, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Independence, Missouri, U.S.
alma_mater	University of Missouri
Kansas City School of Law
branch	United States Army
allegiance	United States
battles	World War II
rank	sergeant
::

| name=William J. Randall | image name=William Randall.png | image_size=180px | state=Missouri | district=4th | party=Democratic | term_start=March 3, 1959 | term_end=January 3, 1977 | preceded=George H. Christopher | succeeded=Ike Skelton | birth_date= | birth_place= Independence, Missouri, U.S. | death_date= | death_place=Independence, Missouri, U.S. | spouse= | religion= | occupation= | residence= | alma_mater= University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law | branch=United States Army | allegiance =United States | battles=World War II | rank=sergeant William Joseph Randall (July 16, 1909 – July 7, 2000) was a member of the United States House of Representatives. He was a member of the Democratic Party from Missouri.

Early life and early career

Randall was born in Independence, Missouri. He attended the University of Missouri and later the Kansas City School of Law, from which he earned his Juris Doctor. Randall served as a private attorney for seven years until being drafted into the United States Army in 1943. He served in the Philippines during World War II, and he eventually reached the rank of sergeant.

Political career

After returning home for the war, Randall was elected as a Jackson County, Missouri judge in 1946 and served until 1959. Following the death of Congressman George H. Christopher, Randall was elected to Congress in the 1959 special election to succeed him. Randall voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1960 and 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

Randall was considered a close ally of Harry Truman. He served on the Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Government Operations. In 1975, he became the first chair of the House Select Committee on Aging. In 1977, Randall retired from the House to resume the practice of law.

Death

He died on July 7, 2000.

Sources

• December 1949 photograph of Judge Randall

References

| state=Missouri | district=4 | before=George H. Christopher | after=Ike Skelton | years=1959–1977}}

References

1. "Truman Library - William J. Randall Oral History Interview, November 14, 1989".
2. "RANDALL, William Joseph - Biographical Information".
3. "HR 8601. PASSAGE.".
4. "H.R. 7152. PASSAGE.".
5. "TO PASS H.R. 6400, THE 1965 VOTING RIGHTS ACT.".
6. "TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR INTERFERENCE WITH CIVIL RIGHTS. INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON ENGAGED IN ONE OF THE 8 ACTIVITIES PROTECTED UNDER THIS BILL MUST BE RACIALLY MOTIVATED TO INCUR THE BILL'S PENALTIES.".
7. Randall, William J.. "William J. Randall".
8. "RANDALL, William Joseph - Biographical Information".

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