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Bill Phelps

1934 – 2019

American politician

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About Bill Phelps

Lived 1934 – 2019 (aged 84). Bill Phelps was an American politician and lawyer.

William Cunningham Phelps (April 5, 1934 – March 19, 2019) was an American Republican politician and lawyer from Missouri. Phelps was born and raised in Nevada, Missouri.

Biography Phelps attended the University of Missouri and graduated with a degree in economics in 1956 and a law degree in 1959. Following graduation he began practicing law with a Kansas City firm.

Phelps was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives from the Kansas City area in 1960 and was re-elected five times. In 1972, he was elected the 40th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri and was re-elected in 1976. Phelps campaigned on a pledge to be Missouri's first "full time" Lieutenant Governor and upon his election to that office, he gave up the practice of law. In 1980 Phelps was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of Missouri. He lost the Republican primary election to former Governor Kit Bond.

After a sixteen-year absence from public life, in 1996 Phelps ran for Congress in Missouri's 4th congressional district. Phelps won the primary, but was defeated in November by the incumbent, Ike Skelton. Phelps worked as the national spokesman for Americans for Fair Tax, a group that advocates replacing the income tax with a national sales tax.

Phelps died in Houston, Texas following a short illness. He was 84.

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Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Nationality
Education
University of Missouri, Nevada High School
Positions held
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives, Lieutenant Governor of Missouri
Also known as
William Cunningham Phelps

People in Bill Phelps's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Bill Phelps's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Bill Phelps?

American politician

When was Bill Phelps born?

Bill Phelps was born on 5 April 1934 in Nevada.

When did Bill Phelps die?

Bill Phelps died on 19 March 2019 in Houston.

What was Bill Phelps's occupation?

Bill Phelps was a politician and lawyer.

What nationality was Bill Phelps?

Bill Phelps was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Bill Phelps

· Wikidata: Q4910487

· DBpedia: Bill Phelps

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Bill Phelps. https://biography.guide/bill-phelps/

MLA: "Bill Phelps." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/bill-phelps/.

Chicago: "Bill Phelps." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/bill-phelps/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-25 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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