William W. Eaton
Eatonc. 1865–80
United States Senator fromConnecticut
In office February 5, 1875 – March 3, 1881
Preceded by	William A. Buckingham
Succeeded by	Joseph R. Hawley
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromConnecticut's1st district
In office March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885
Preceded by	John R. Buck
Succeeded by	John R. Buck
Member of theConnecticut House of Representatives
In office 1847-1848 1853
Member of theConnecticut Senate
In office 1850
Personal details
Born	(1816-10-11)October 11, 1816 Tolland, Connecticut, US
Died	September 21, 1898(1898-09-21) (aged 81) Hartford, Connecticut, US
Political party	Democratic

William Wallace Eaton (October 11, 1816 – September 21, 1898) was aUnited States representative andUnited States senator fromConnecticut.

Born inTolland, Connecticut, he was educated in the common schools and by private instruction. He moved toColumbia, South Carolina to engage in mercantile pursuits, then returned to Tolland, studied law, and was admitted to thebar in 1837, and began practice there.

A clerk of courts of Tolland County in 1846 and 1847, Eaton was a member of theConnecticut House of Representatives 1847–1848, then a member of the Connecticut state senate 20th District in 1850. In 1851, he moved toHartford, and was clerk of courts ofHartford County in 1851 and 1854, as well as city attorney in 1857 and 1858. He was chief judge of the city court of Hartford in 1863 and 1864, and from 1867 to 1872, and was a delegate to Democratic National Convention from Connecticut in 1864 and 1868.^[1]

Eaton was again a member of theConnecticut House of Representatives in 1853, and again was a member of theConnecticut Senate in 1859. An unsuccessfulDemocratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1860, Eaton again served as a Representative in 1863, 1868, 1870–1871 and 1873–1874. He served as speaker in 1853 and 1873.^[2]

Appointed as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death ofWilliam A. Buckingham, Eaton served from February 5, 1875, to March 3, 1875. Elected for the full term beginning March 4, 1875, he served until March 3, 1881. While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations (Forty-sixth Congress).^[3] He would prove the last DemocraticSenator from Connecticut untilAugustine Lonergan was elected in 1932.

Eaton was also elected as a Democratic Representative to the Forty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885),^[4] and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1884.

Eaton resumed the practice of law until he died in Hartford, on September 21, 1898 (age 81 years, 345 days). He is interred at Spring Grove Cemetery, Hartford, Connecticut.

• Library of Congress Biography
• William W. Eaton atFind a Grave
• Govtrack US Congress
• The Political Graveyard
• ConnecticutHistory.org

• 1816 births
• 1898 deaths
• Connecticut state court judges
• Democratic Party United States senators from Connecticut
• Democratic Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives
• Democratic Party Connecticut state senators
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut
• People from Tolland, Connecticut
• Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
• 19th-century Connecticut state court judges
• 19th-century United States representatives
• 19th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly
• 19th-century United States senators

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from June 2016