William English was secretary of the Indiana State Constitutional Convention in 1850, and the following year was a member of house of representative. He was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-third and the three succeeding Congresses 1853-1861. Representative English was also Regent of the Smithsonian Institution during this time.

After his retirement from Congress he moved to Indianapolis. English was firmly opposed to secession and did his best to dissuade southern congressmen. In 1863 he founded the First National Bank of Indianapolis of which he remained president for fourteen years.

During the Democratic National Convention at Cincinnati, Mr. English was nominated for the Vice Presidency on the ticket of Hancock and English. They were unsuccessful against Garfield and Arthur. From that time he devoted his interests to state and local activities.

William Hayden English published several historical studies including, "Conquest of the North West" and "life of George Rogers Clark". William married Emma M. Jackson in 1847 and there were two surviving children: William E. and Rosalind. William Hayden English died in Indianapolis.

William was educated in the common schools and at Hanover College, studied law, and was admitted to practice in the U. S. Supreme Court before he was twenty-three years of age. He served as deputy clerk of his native County, and as postmaster of Lexington, before reaching his majority. In 1843-1844 he was a principal clerk in the Indiana House of Representatives, he was principal secretary of the State convention of 1850, which framed the constitution of Indiana, and was a member and speaker of the first House of Representatives after its adoption in 1851.

Mr. English was a clerk in the U. S. treasury department during Polk's administration, and held a clerkship in the U. S. Senate about, 1850. He was elected to congress in 1852 as a Democrat, and served from 1853 till 1861, when he resigned and engaged in banking. He was prominently identified with the legislation of that period, and was the author of a compromise measure, in relation to the admission of Kansas as a state, which became a law, and was a prolific theme of controversy in the heated political contests of that day, under the name of "the English bill."

From 1853 till 1861 he was one of the regents of the Smithsonian institution in Washington, D.C. In 1880 Mr. English was unanimously nominated for vice president, on the ticket with General Hancock, by the Democratic national convention. He is president of the Indiana historical society, and author of an historical and biographical work on the constitution and lawmakers of that state (Indianapolis, 1887).

Source_bio 2:
Edited Appletons Encyclopedia
Copyright © 2001