- Riley J. Wilson
Riley Joseph Wilson (
November 12 ,1871 -February 23 ,1946 ) was aLouisiana educator ,attorney , andlegislator in the first half of the late 19th century and the firstdecade s of the 20th century. A Democrat, Wilson served in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1915 until 1937. He was defeated for renomination in 1936.He was born near Goldonna in Winn Parish, the traditional In 1894, he graduated from Iuka Normal Institute in Iuka (Tishomingo County),
Mississippi . He was the principal of Harrisonburg High School in Harrisonburg, the seat ofCatahoula Parish , from 1895–1897. Wilson studiedlaw and was admitted to the bar in 1898. He opened his practice in Harrisonburg.Prior to his service in the U.S. Congress, Wiley was a a
district attorney , statejudge , and a member of theLouisiana House of Representatives from 1900–1904. He succeeded a Populist state legislator, Henry Breithaupt.Wilson and Governor
Oramel H. Simpson were the two unsuccessful candidates for governor in the 1928 Democratic primary. They lost to the legendary Huey Pierce Long, Jr., at the time a member of theLouisiana Public Service Commission .Wilson spent his later years in Ruston, the seat of
Lincoln Parish , where he died at the age of seventy-four. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Ruston.References
*. Retrieved onNovember 21 ,2006
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