calsfoundation@cals.org
May 2, 1866
William Shields Goodwin was born in Warren (Bradley County). He studied law and was admitted to the Arkansas bar in 1894, after which he opened a practice in Warren. He won election to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1895. In 1900, Goodwin served as a Democratic presidential elector. He then won election to the state Senate, serving from 1905 until 1909. He also was a member of the University of Arkansas’s board of trustees from 1907 until 1911. He then became a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the Seventh District of Arkansas from 1911 to 1921.