William Ben Cravens was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

, father of William Fadjo Cravens

William Fadjo Cravens

William Fadjo Cravens was a United States Congressman . He was born on February 15, 1899 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was the son of Arkansas Congressman William B. Cravens. William Fadjo Cravens attended the University of Arkansas and the University of Pittsburgh; he also attended Washington & Lee...

 and cousin of Jordan Edgar Cravens

Jordan E. Cravens

Jordan Edgar Cravens was a U.S. Representative from Arkansas, cousin of William Ben Cravens.-Biography:Born in Fredericktown, Missouri, Cravens moved with his father to Arkansas the following year....

.

Cravens was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas

Fort Smith, Arkansas

Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...

, attended the common school

Common school

A common school was a public school in the United States or Canada in the nineteenth century. The term 'common school' was coined by Horace Mann, and refers to the fact that they were meant to serve individuals of all social classes and religions....

s, Louisville Military Academy in Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, and Staunton Military Academy

Staunton Military Academy

Staunton Military Academy was an all-male military academy located in Staunton, Virginia for much of its 116-year history. The school closed in 1976. Many notable American political and military leaders are graduates...

 in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

.
He graduated from the law department of the University of Missouri

University of Missouri

The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

 in 1893.
He was admitted to the Arkansas bar the same year and commenced practice in Fort Smith, Arkansas

Fort Smith, Arkansas

Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...

. He was City attorney

City attorney

A city attorney can be an elected or appointed position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the city or municipality....

 of Fort Smith from 1898 until 1902, and the prosecuting attorney for the twelfth judicial district of Arkansas from 1902 until 1908.

Cravens was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the Sixtieth

60th United States Congress

The Sixtieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1907 to March 4, 1909, during the last two years of...

, Sixty-first

61st United States Congress

The Sixty-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1909 to March 4, 1911, during the first two years of...

, and Sixty-second

62nd United States Congress

- House of Representatives :* Democratic : 230 * Republican : 162* Socialist : 1* Independent : 1TOTAL members: 394-Senate:* President: James S...

 Congresses and served from March 4, 1907 until March 3, 1913.
He was not a candidate for reelection in 1912 to the Sixty-third Congress

63rd United States Congress

- House of Representatives:*Democratic : 291 *Republican : 134*Progressive : 9*Independent : 1TOTAL members: 435-Senate:*President of the Senate: Thomas R. Marshall*President pro tempore: James P. Clarke-Senate:...

.
After serving in Congress he resumed the practice of law.

Cravens was elected to the Seventy-third

73rd United States Congress

The Seventy-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1933 to January 3, 1935, during the first two years...

 and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1933, until his death in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, on January 13, 1939. He was interred in Oak Cemetery, Fort Smith, Arkansas.