William Kavanaugh Oldham (20 May 1865-6 May 1938) was the Acting Governor of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of 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...

 for six days in 1913.

Oldham was born in Richmond, Kentucky

Richmond, Kentucky

There were 10,795 households out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.2% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.6% were non-families. Of all households, 34.7% were made up of individuals and 8.8% had...

 and educated at Central University

Central University

Central University may mean:*National Central University, Taiwan*Nanjing University, former name*Central University , one of 22 government-designated central universities in India*Central University of Ecuador, the oldest university in Ecuador...

, also in Richmond. He moved to Pettus, Arkansas in Lonoke County in 1885.

He was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives

Arkansas House of Representatives

The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the state. Each district has an average population of 26,734...

 in 1907. He served as a member of the Arkansas Senate

Arkansas Senate

The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 76,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have full-time jobs during the rest of the year. The...

 from 1911 to 1913, and was selected as president of the Senate in 1913.

When Governor Joseph Taylor Robinson

Joseph Taylor Robinson

Joseph Taylor Robinson was an American politician from Arkansas, of the Democratic Party. He was a state representative, U.S. Representative, 23rd Governor of Arkansas, U.S...

 resigned from office on 10 March 1913, Oldham became Governor of Arkansas. Oldham served for six days, then turned his office over to the newly elected president of the Senate, Junius Marion Futrell

Junius Marion Futrell

Junius Marion Futrell was the 30th Governor of Arkansas from 1933 to 1937, and the Acting Governor for a short stint in 1913....

, who himself was only acting governor for four months.

Oldham retired from public service and returned to farming.

William K. Oldham died in Pettus

Pettus

Pettus may refer to:* Pettus, Texas, a place in Bee County, Texas, United States* Edmund Pettus, a Confederate Brigadier General in the American Civil War* John J. Pettus, a 19th century United States politician...

, 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...

 and is buried at the Oaklawn Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

.