William Fosgate Kirby (November 16, 1867 – July 26, 1934) was a Democratic Party politician from Arkansas who represented the state in the U.S. Senate from 1916 to 1921.

William Fosgate Kirby
United States Senator
from Arkansas
In office
November 8, 1916 – March 3, 1921
Preceded byJames P. Clarke
Succeeded byThaddeus H. Caraway
Attorney General of Arkansas
In office
1907–1909
GovernorXenophon O. Pindall
Preceded byRobert L. Rogers
Succeeded byHal L. Norwood
Member of the Arkansas State Senate
In office
1899–1901
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
In office
1893
1897
Personal details
Born(1867-11-16)November 16, 1867
Texarkana, Arkansas
DiedJuly 26, 1934(1934-07-26) (aged 66)
Little Rock, Arkansas
Political partyDemocratic

Kirby was born in Miller County, Arkansas, near Texarkana, on November 16, 1867, and attended common schools. He studied law at Cumberland School of Law at Cumberland University, graduating in 1885, in which year he was admitted to the bar and began practice in Texarkana. A member of the state House of Representatives in 1893 and again in 1897, Kirby served in the state senate from 1899 to 1901. In 1904, he wrote Kirby’s Digest of the Statutes of Arkansas; in 1907, he moved to Little Rock. He was the state's attorney general from 1907 to 1909 and was elected associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, serving from 1910 to 1916.

He resigned upon his election to the Senate to serve out the term of James P. Clarke, who had died in office. As a senator, Kirby chaired the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Agriculture and served on the Committee on Patents. An unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1920 and again in 1932, he resumed his law practice upon leaving the Senate. He again became an associate justice of the state supreme court, serving from 1926 until his death; he died in Little Rock on July 26, 1934, and is buried in Texarkana.

See also

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References

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United States Congress. "KIRBY, William Fosgate (id: K000233)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

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Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Arkansas
(Class 3)

1916
Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by
Robert L. Rogers
Attorney General of Arkansas
1907–1909
Succeeded by
Hal L. Norwood
U.S. Senate
Preceded by Senator from Arkansas (Class 3)
1916–1921
Served alongside: Joseph Taylor Robinson
Succeeded by