William Leonard Hungate (December 14, 1922 – June 22, 2007) was a United States representative from Missouri from November 3, 1964 (special election upon the death of Congressman Clarence Cannon), to January 3, 1977, representing the Ninth Congressional District. Following his retirement from the United States House of Representatives, Hungate was appointed to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, where he served until his retirement in 1992. He is also the father of David Hungate. Early years and education Hungate was born in Benton, Illinois, on December 14, 1922, and graduated from Bowling Green High School in Bowling Green, Missouri, in 1940. He initially attended the University of Michigan, transferring to the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, receiving an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1943. He received his Bachelor of Laws in 1948 from Harvard Law School. In 1969, he was awarded a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Harvard Law School. World War II military service Hungate served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946, where he received the Combat Infantryman Badge, 3 Battle stars, and Bronze Star. He served in England, France and Germany throughout World War II. Legal career and politics Hungate was admitted to the Missouri bar in 1948 and the Illinois Bar in 1949 and immediately entered private law practice in Troy, Missouri, from 1948 to 1968. He was then elected prosecuting attorney of Lincoln County, Missouri, serving from 1951 to 1956. From 1958 to 1964, he served as a Missouri Special Assistant Attorney General. On November 3, 1964, he was elected as a Democrat simultaneously to the 88th Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative Clarence Cannon, and to the 89th Congress. He was reelected to the five succeeding Congresses, serving until January 3, 1977. Hungate voted in favor of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 but against Civil Rights Act of 1968. Hungate was a member of the House Judiciary Committee. He participated in the 1974 impeachment process against Richard Nixon, and sponsored the second article of impeachment against Nixon charging him with abuse of power. Later that same year, as chairman of the Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on criminal justice, he led the congressional review of the presidential pardon of Nixon by Nixon's successor, Gerald Ford. Lamenting that politics