William Elmer Evans (December 14, 1877 â November 12, 1959) was a lawyer, real estate developer, and politician, who served as a Republican United States Congressman from California's 9th and 11th congressional district. Overall, he served four terms from 1927 to 1935.
William Elmer Evans was born in Laurel County, Kentucky, in 1877. He was educated at public schools and attended Sue Bennett Memorial College, in London, Kentucky.
Evans studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1902, commencing practice in London, Kentucky. He later moved to Glendale, California, in 1910 and continued to practice law and banking.
He was the city attorney of Glendale from 1911 to 1921 and a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1924.
Evans was elected as a Republican to the Seventieth and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1927 â January 3, 1935), and an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1934 to the Seventy-fourth Congress. In Congress he served on the House Naval Affairs Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.
Evans supported the Boulder (Hoover) Dam, voted against the repeal of Prohibition (the 21st Amendment) in Congress, and sought to prevent water taxis launching to gambling ships anchored offshore.
Later in life, Evans resumed the practice of law, real estate development, and ranching until his death in Los Angeles, California, November 12, 1959. He is interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale.