{{Short description|American politician (1922–1971)}} {{One source|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = William O. Cowger.jpg | state = Kentucky | district = 3rd | term_start = January 3, 1967 | term_end = January 3, 1971 | preceded = Charles R. Farnsley | succeeded = Romano Mazzoli | office2 = 49th Mayor of Louisville | term_start2 = December 1961 | term_end2 = December 1965 | preceded2 = Bruce Hoblitzell | succeeded2 = Kenneth A. Schmied | party = Republican | birth_name = William Owen Cowger | birth_date = {{birth date|1922|01|01}} | birth_place = Hastings, Nebraska, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1971|10|02|1922|01|01}} | death_place = Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. | resting_place = Cave Hill Cemetery<br />Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. | spouse = | children = | occupation = | alma_mater = }} '''William Owen Cowger''' (January 1, 1922 – October 2, 1971), a Republican, served as mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, and as a member of the United States House of Representatives.
==Early life and education== Cowger was born January 1, 1922 in Hastings, Nebraska, and attended Hastings High School. He attended one year of university at Texas A&M, finishing his undergraduate degree at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. He took postgraduate studies of political studies for three years at the University of Louisville (in Louisville, Kentucky) and American University (in Washington, D.C.).<ref name="Congbio">{{cite web |title=Cowger, William Owen 1922 – 1971 |url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/C000823 |website=Biographical Directory of the United States House of Representatives |access-date=April 24, 2026}}</ref>
Cowger graduated from the United States Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School at Columbia University in New York City, before serving for twenty months in United States Navy, fighting in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of World War II.<ref name="Congbio">{{cite web |title=Cowger, William Owen 1922 – 1971 |url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/C000823 |website=Biographical Directory of the United States House of Representatives |access-date=April 24, 2026}}</ref>
==Career== After his military service, Cowder returned to Louisville{{citation needed|date=April 2026}}, where he became president of Thompson & Cowger Co (a mortgage loan company). In 1953, he was elected president of the Louisville Junior Chamber of Commerce.<ref name="Congbio"/>
===Mayor of Louisville=== In 1961, Cowder was elected mayor of Louisville, winning election as the Republican Party nominee.<ref name="Congbio"/> At the time, he was one of very few members of the Republican Party to hold the mayoralty of a large United States city.<ref>{{cite web |agency=Congressional Quarterly |title=2 Governorships On 1965 Ballots; 4 Legislatures and Mayors in 35 Big Cities Also Up |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/03/14/archives/2-governorship-on-1965-ballots-4-legislatures-and-mayors-in-35-big.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=April 24, 2026 |date=March 14, 1965}}</ref> He served a single four-year term, as state law at the time did not allow him to seek re-election to a second consecutive term.{{citation needed|date=April 2026}}.
While mayor, Cowder was elected president of the Kentucky state chapter the Kentucky Municipal League in 1963. He further served as president of the Inter-American Municipal Organization from 1964 to 1965.<ref name="Congbio"/>
For many years, Cowder served as the local Republican Party chairman for Kentucky's 3rd congressional district, as well as a member of the state central committee of the Kentucky Republican Party.<ref name="Congbio"/>
===Member of the U.S. House of Representatives=== Cowger was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1966. He was re-elected in 1968, and served in the House of Representatives from January 3, 1967, to January 3, 1971.<ref name="Congbio"/> As a congressman, he voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1968.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/90-1967/h113|title=TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR INTERFERENCE WITH CIVIL RIGHTS. INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON ENGAGED IN ONE OF THE 8 ACTIVITIES PROTECTED UNDER THIS BILL MUST BE RACIALLY MOTIVATED TO INCUR THE BILL'S PENALTIES.}}</ref> Cowger unsuccessfully sought re-election in 1970<ref name="Congbio"/> while dealing with a fatal illness, but was defeated by Democrat Romano Mazzoli.{{Citation needed|date=April 2026}}
===Later career=== After his defeat for congressional re-election, Cowger returned to his mortgage business in Louisville. He died less than one year after on October 2, 1971. He was interred at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.<ref name="Congbio"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Kentucky | district=3 | before=Charles R. Farnsley | after=Romano Mazzoli | years=1967–1971 }} {{s-end}} {{LouisvilleMayors}} {{USCongRep-start|congresses= 90th–91st United States Congresses |state=Kentucky}} {{USCongRep/KY/90}} {{USCongRep/KY/91}} {{USCongRep-end}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowger, William O.}} Category:1922 births Category:1971 deaths Category:Mayors of Louisville, Kentucky Category:Military personnel from Louisville, Kentucky Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:Politicians from Hastings, Nebraska Category:Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery Category:Republican Party United States representatives from Kentucky Category:20th-century Kentucky politicians Category:20th-century mayors of places in Kentucky Category:20th-century United States representatives
{{Louisville-stub}}