Clay, William L., Sr., 1931-
Variant namesWilliam Lacy Clay (born April 30, 1931) is an American politician from Missouri. As Congressman from Missouri's first district, he represented portions of St. Louis in the U.S. House of Representatives for 32 years.
Clay was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Luella S. (Hyatt) and Irving Charles Clay. He graduated from Saint Louis University. Clay served in the United States Army from 1953 to 1955, and he was a St. Louis alderman from 1959 to 1964. Clay served 105 days in jail for participating in a civil rights demonstration in 1963. Prior to entering Congress, Clay held jobs first as a real estate broker and later as a labor coordinator. He worked for the union of St. Louis city employees from 1961 to 1964 and then with a steamfitters union local until 1967.
Clay was elected to the House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1968. He became an advocate for environmentalism, labor issues, and social justice. Clay faced ethics charges in the 1970s for billing the government on auto trips while flying on airlines, and the House banking scandal revealed that Clay had 328 overdrafts. In 1993, Clay voted for the Family and Medical Leave Act. From 1991 until the Democrats lost control of Congress in 1995, Clay chaired the House Committee on the Post Office and Civil Service. In 2000, he retired from the House and his son, Lacy, succeeded him.
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referencedIn | Records of the Task Force on National Health Care (Clinton Administration), 1993 - 1994. Jack Lew's Files, 1993 - 1994 | William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum | |
referencedIn | Records of the White House Office of Records Management (Clinton Administration), 1993 - 2001. Subject Files on Judicial and Legal Matters, 1993 - 2001 | William J. Clinton Presidential Center | |
referencedIn | General Records of the Department of Justice, 1790 - 2002. Subject Files of the Attorney General, 1974 - 1993 | National Archives at College Park | |
referencedIn | Records of the Domestic Policy Staff (Carter Administration), 1976 - 1981. Stuart Eizenstat's Subject File, 1976 - 1981. Civil Service Reform (1) | Jimmy Carter Library | |
referencedIn | Records of the U.S. House of Representatives. 1789 - 2015. General Records. 1791 - 2010. Representative Martha Griffiths's Discharge Petition for the Equal Rights Amendment | Center for Legislative Archives |
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creatorOf | The HistoryMakers Video Oral History with The Honorable William Clay, Sr. | The HistoryMakers |
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memberOf | Congressional Black Caucus (United States) | corporateBody |
alumnusOrAlumnaOf | Saint Louis University | corporateBody |
memberOf | United States. Army | corporateBody |
memberOf | United States. Congress. House | person |
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Silver Spring | MD | US | |
St. Louis | MO | US |
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Person
Birth 1931-04-30
Male
Americans
English