English, William H., lawyer, member of Congress and capitalist, was born at Lexington, Scott county, Ind., Aug. 27, 1822. He was educated at Hanover College in his native state, studied law, and before he was 23 years of age was admitted to practice in the Indiana supreme court. He served as deputy clerk of Scott county; was chief clerk of the lower house of the state legislature in 1843; was principal secretary of the Indiana constitutional convention in 1850, and was elected a member of the first legislature under that constitution. In 1852 he was elected to represent his district in Congress, where he continued until 1861, when he resigned to engage in the banking business. While in Congress he was appointed on the conference committee to report a bill relating to the Lecompton constitution. (See English Bill.) In this capacity Mr. English showed himself to be the friend of fair play, as it was under the provisions of his bill that the proposition to admit Kansas under the Lecompton constitution was finally defeated, though he made many enemies among the administration members of his party. To these enemies Mr. English replied that the corner-stone of Democracy was the right of the majority to rule, and that the people of Kansas ought to have the right to express themselves upon a question which concerned them more than the people of any other state. During the time he was in Congress Mr. English was one of the regents of the Smithonian Institution. In 1880 he was the Democratic nominee for vice-president on the ticket with Gen. W. S. Hancock, which was his last appearance in public life. The balance of his life was devoted to literary work, and for several years he was president of the Indiana Historical Society. He died at Indianapolis, Feb. 7, 1896.