William S. Flynn
Encyclopedia
William Smith Flynn of Providence, Rhode Island
was the 54th Governor of Rhode Island from 1923 to 1925. He was a Democrat.
Flynn graduated from the College of Holy Cross in 1907 and Georgetown Law School in 1910. He served as a state representative from 1912 to 1923. As a legislator, he sponsored the Townsend-Flynn Act, which guaranteed Kosher food to Jewish inmates in state prisons, the first such law in the United States.
In 1924, while Flynn was governor, the Ku Klux Klan
held an illegal meeting at the state owned The Old Arsenal, the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery building, 176 Benefit St. Later, Flynn denounced the KKK and forbade the group from meeting on state property.,
Fkynn was the Democratic Party nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1924, but lost to his Republican Jesse H. Metcalf
.
Flynn later led the advisory board for the Public Works Administration from 1933 to 1934 and served as division director for Providence Civilian Defense during World War II.
He was married to Virginia H. Goodwin.
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
was the 54th Governor of Rhode Island from 1923 to 1925. He was a Democrat.
Flynn graduated from the College of Holy Cross in 1907 and Georgetown Law School in 1910. He served as a state representative from 1912 to 1923. As a legislator, he sponsored the Townsend-Flynn Act, which guaranteed Kosher food to Jewish inmates in state prisons, the first such law in the United States.
In 1924, while Flynn was governor, the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
held an illegal meeting at the state owned The Old Arsenal, the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery building, 176 Benefit St. Later, Flynn denounced the KKK and forbade the group from meeting on state property.,
Fkynn was the Democratic Party nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1924, but lost to his Republican Jesse H. Metcalf
Jesse H. Metcalf
Jesse Houghton Metcalf was a United States Senator from Rhode Island. Born in Providence, he was educated in private schools there, studied textile manufacturing in Yorkshire, England, and engaged in textile manufacturing. In 1889 Metcalf received a large bequest from his father's business...
.
Flynn later led the advisory board for the Public Works Administration from 1933 to 1934 and served as division director for Providence Civilian Defense during World War II.
He was married to Virginia H. Goodwin.