William A. Peffer
| William Alfred Peffer | |
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United States Senator from Kansas |
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In office March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1897 |
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| Preceded by | John J. Ingalls |
| Succeeded by | William A. Harris |
| Member of the Kansas Senate | |
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In office 1874 1876 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 10, 1831 Cumberland County, Pennsylvania |
| Died | October 6, 1912 (aged 81) Grenola, Kansas |
| Political party | People's Party (Populist) |
William Alfred Peffer (September 10, 1831 – October 6, 1912) was a United States Senator from Kansas, notable for being the first of six Populists (two of whom, more than any other state, were from Kansas) elected to the United States Senate. In the Senate he was recognizable by his enormous flowing beard. His name was also raised as a possible third-party presidential candidate in 1896.
Born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Peffer attended the public schools and commenced teaching at the age of 15. He followed the gold rush to San Francisco, California in 1850 and moved to Indiana in 1853, Missouri in 1859, and Illinois in 1862. During the Civil War he enlisted in the Union Army as a private, was promoted to second lieutenant, and served as regimental quartermaster and adjutant, post adjutant, judge advocate of the military commission, and department Army he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1865, commencing practice in Clarksville, Tennessee. He moved to Fredonia, Kansas in 1870 and continued the practice of law, and purchased and edited the Fredonia Journal.
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