Bill Nichols (politician)

William Flynt Nichols (October 16, 1918 – December 13, 1988) was a Democratic member of United States House of Representatives from Alabama, having served from 1967 until his death from a heart attack in Washington, D.C. in 1988.

Life
Nichols was born on October 16, 1918. On January 30, 1942, Nichols married Maude Carolyn Funderburk. He was a Methodist, having served on the Board of Stewards of Sylacauga's First Methodist Church.

Nichols died of a heart attack on December 13, 1988.

Education
Nichols received a bachelor's degree in Agriculture in 1939 from the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University) and a master's degree in Agronomy from the same institution in 1941.

Military service
Nichols enlisted in the United States Army in 1942 and served five years in the European Theatre. He was wounded at the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, losing a leg in a land mine explosion. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart, and retired with the rank of Captain in 1947. Following his retirement, he lived in Sylacauga, Alabama, where he is also buried.

Business career
After military service, Nichols was employed by the Parker Fertilizer Company, and would later become president of the associated Parker Gin Company.

Service in the Alabama Legislature
Prior to his congressional service, he served over an eight-year period in both houses of the Alabama Legislature, having been elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1958 and the Alabama Senate in 1962.

Congressional service
In 1986, with retiring Republican U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, Nichols co-authored the Goldwater–Nichols Act, the far-reaching reorganization of the United States Department of Defense command structure.