1. William "Wild Bill" Langer was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 17th governor of North Dakota from 1932 to 1934 and the 21st governor from 1937 to 1939.
23 Facts About William Langer
1. 2.
William Langer's governorship was demarcated by a scandal that forced him out of office and into multiple trials.
3.
William Langer was born on September 30,1886, near Casselton, Dakota Territory, to German-Americans Frank and Mary William Langer.
4.
William Langer's Catholic father, Frank Langer, was a member of the first legislature of the state of North Dakota.
5.
William Langer, who spoke German fluently, was valedictorian of Casselton High School upon graduation in 1904.
6.
William Langer obtained a bachelor of laws from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, but was too young upon graduation to practice law.
7.
William Langer therefore continued his undergraduate education at Columbia, where he graduated at the top of his class in 1910.
8.
In 1914, William Langer was appointed state's attorney of Morton County and was one of a few non-farmers on the Nonpartisan League Republican 1916 state ticket.
9.
William Langer was elected state attorney general as the newly formed NPL party swept to victory in the 1916 election, but soon clashed with the party's founder and mercurial leader Arthur C Townley.
10.
William Langer's break with the NPL leadership was a reflection of the infighting that limited the party's eventual influence on North Dakota politics.
11.
William Langer eventually mended his rift with the NPL and was elected governor of North Dakota in 1932.
12.
William Langer signed a Declaration of Independence of North Dakota, declared martial law in Bismarck, and barricaded himself in the governor's mansion.
13.
William Langer eventually relented when his own officers refused to recognize his authority, and Olson served the remainder of Langer's term as governor.
14.
Miller, following a recusal motion by William Langer, refused to step down as judge in the first retrial, which resulted in a hung jury.
15.
Between the second and third trials, Lanier filed charges against William Langer for committing perjury in his recusal motion against Miller.
16.
The vote to expel William Langer failed, then needing 64 votes to reach the two-third majority to pass.
17.
William Langer was adamant about implementing affordable healthcare for everyone.
18.
William Langer was one of seven senators to oppose full US entry into the United Nations.
19.
William Langer was a Zionist who supported the establishment of Israel.
20.
In September 1950, Langer filibustered to prevent the override of President Harry S Truman's veto of the McCarran Internal Security Act for five hours before collapsing.
21.
In 1951, Langer lobbied John J McCloy, the US High Commissioner for Germany, to grant a reprieve to Martin Sandberger, a high-ranking SS official who had been convicted of crimes against humanity and war crimes for his role in the mass murder of Jews and others in Estonia during the Holocaust.
22.
William Langer voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
23.
William Langer was the last US senator to lie in state in the Senate Chamber until Robert Byrd of West Virginia in 2010.