Randolph Carpenter

William Randolph Carpenter (April 24, 1894, Marion, Kansas – July 26, 1956, Topeka, Kansas) was a U.S. Representative from Kansas and a U.S. Army World War I veteran. He died in Topeka, Kansas, July 26, 1956 and was interred in Highland Cemetery, Marion, Kansas.

Biography
Carpenter attended local public and high schools in Marion, Kansas. He graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1917, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity. Carpenter was admitted to the bar that same year and commenced his practice in Marion, Kansas. He continued his family's agricultural pursuits by maintaining his farm.

World War I
Carpenter joined the U. S. Army National Guard in Marion in 1917 as a Second Lieutenant and helped organize Company M under the Third Regiment Infantry, Kansas National Guard. During the First World War he was called to active duty and was transferred to Company M, One Hundred Thirty-ninth Infantry Regiment, Thirty-fifth Infantry Division which deployed to France in early 1918. He was promoted to first lieutenant during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, and served until his discharge on May 8, 1919.

Marriage
Carpenter married Helen Frances Williams (born 20 November 1896 in Marion, Kansas - died January 1994 in Topeka, Kansas) daughter of Fred Reed & Frances Elizabeth (née Skidmore) Williams on 15 July 1920 in Marion, Kansas.

Community service

 * Member of the Marion Board of Education (1925–1933)
 * Served in the State House of Representatives (1929–1933)
 * Elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Congresses (March 4, 1933–January 3, 1937). Declined to run in 1936 and resumed the practice of law.
 * United States Attorney for the District of Kansas (1945–1948)
 * Democratic candidate for governor in 1948
 * Member of the United States Motor Carrier Claims Commission (1950–1952)