{{short description|American politician (1897–1947)}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = MO Treasurers - 30 Wilson Bell (1941-1945).jpg | caption = Bell, {{circa|1941}} | birth_date = {{birth date|1897|5|24}} | death_date = {{death date and age|1947|5|20|1897|5|24}} | birth_place = Potosi, Missouri, US | office = State Treasurer of Missouri | office2 = Secretary of State of Missouri | term = 1941–1945 | term2 = 1945 – May 20, 1947 | predecessor = Robert W. Winn | predecessor2 = Gregory C. Stockard | successor = Robert W. Winn | successor2 = Edgar C. Nelson | party = Democratic | death_place = Jefferson City, Missouri, US | battles = World War I | branch = United States Army }} '''Wilson Bell''' (May 24, 1897 – May 20, 1947) was an American politician. He served as the State Treasurer of Missouri from 1941 to 1945, and as Secretary of State of Missouri from 1945 until his death 1947.
== Biography == Bell was born on May 24, 1897, in Potosi, Missouri, to Henry Bell and Mamie (née Crane) Bell.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Missouri State Past Treasurers - Wilson Bell |url=https://www.treasurer.mo.gov/content/about-the-office/1wilson-bell |access-date=2026-01-10 |website=www.treasurer.mo.gov |language=en}}</ref> His father was a newspaperman, and Bell succeeded his father as publisher of the ''Independent-Journal''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=20 May 1947 |title=Wilson Bell, Secretary of State, Dies Early Today |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/80757322/?match=1&terms=Wilson%20Bell |access-date=2026-01-10 |work=Macon Chronicle-Herald |pages=1}}</ref> He studied at the University of Missouri. He served in the United States Army during World War I.<ref name=":0" /> An obituary described him as "stocky" and "keen-eyed".<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 May 1947 |title=Wilson Bell, Secretary of State, Is Dead |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/17360655/?match=1&terms=Wilson%20Bell |access-date=2026-01-10 |work=Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune |pages=1}}</ref>
From 1924 to 1932, Bell served as Treasurer of Washington County. He then worked as treasurer of the Missouri Press Association from 1932 to 1940. A Democrat, he served as State Treasurer of Missouri from 1941 to 1945, a position he earned an annual $7,500 for. He then served as Secretary of State of Missouri from 1945, until his death in office, in 1947.<ref name=":0" /> Following his death, Governor Phil M. Donnelly enacted a law allowing the Governor to act as Secretary of State until a replacement could be found; his replacement was Robert W. Winn, who had also nonconsecutively served before Bell.<ref name=":1" />
In 1918, Bell married Margaret Mary Settle; they had three children together, with a son dying as an infant. He died on May 20, 1947, aged 49, in Jefferson City, from renal cell carcinoma.<ref name=":0" /> Following his death, he was commemorated by the Missouri General Assembly.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Journal_of_the_House_of_the_State_of_Mis/bskaAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Wilson+Bell+Missouri&dq=Wilson+Bell+Missouri&printsec=frontcover |title=Journal of the House of the State of Missouri |date=1947 |pages=1126 |language=en}}</ref> He is buried in Potosi.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Bell |url=https://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bell.html#622.24.77 |access-date=2026-01-10 |website=politicalgraveyard.com}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}{{s-start}} {{s-ppo}} {{s-bef|before=Robert W. Winn}} {{s-ttl|title=Democratic nominee for State Treasurer of Missouri|years=1940}} {{s-aft|after=Robert W. Winn}} {{s-bef|before=Dwight H. Brown}} {{s-ttl|title=Democratic nominee for Secretary of State of Missouri|years=1944}} {{s-aft|after=Walter H. Toberman}} {{s-off}} {{succession box | title=State Treasurer of Missouri | before=Robert W. Winn | after=Robert W. Winn| years=1941–1945}} {{s-bef|before=Gregory C. Stockard}} {{s-ttl|title=Secretary of State of Missouri|years=1945–1947}} {{s-aft|after=Edgar C. Nelson}} {{s-end}}
{{MOTreasurers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Wilson}} Category:State treasurers of Missouri Category:Secretaries of state of Missouri Category:Missouri Democrats Category:Deaths from kidney cancer in the United States Category:1897 births Category:1947 deaths Category:20th-century Missouri politicians Category:Deaths from cancer in Missouri