Biography
William Wainwright was born in Somerville, Tennessee and graduated with a BS degree from Memphis State University in 1970. He was pastor of Piney Grove AME Zion Church from 1985 to 1993.
In January 2007, Wainwright was nominated by his colleagues in the Democratic caucus as Speaker pro tempore of the House. He was elected on January 24, making him the first African American to serve in the number-two post in the House since Reconstruction. He was re-elected Speaker pro tempore in 2009. After Democrats lost their House majority, Wainwright was elected deputy minority leader.
Read more about this topic: William L. Wainwright
Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“Had Dr. Johnson written his own life, in conformity with the opinion which he has given, that every man’s life may be best written by himself; had he employed in the preservation of his own history, that clearness of narration and elegance of language in which he has embalmed so many eminent persons, the world would probably have had the most perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited.”
—James Boswell (1740–95)
“As we approached the log house,... the projecting ends of the logs lapping over each other irregularly several feet at the corners gave it a very rich and picturesque look, far removed from the meanness of weather-boards. It was a very spacious, low building, about eighty feet long, with many large apartments ... a style of architecture not described by Vitruvius, I suspect, though possibly hinted at in the biography of Orpheus.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)