Bill Nichols (politician)

William Flynt Nichols was an Americam politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the United States House of Representatives for Alabama's 4th congressional district from 1967 to 1973 and Alabama's 3rd congressional district from 1973 until his death in 1988.

Life

Nichols was born on October 16, 1918. On January 30, 1942, Nichols married Maude Carolyn Funderburk. He was a Methodist, having served on the Board of Stewards of Sylacauga's First Methodist Church.
Nichols died of a heart attack on December 13, 1988.

Nichols received a bachelor's degree in Agriculture in 1939 from the Alabama Polytechnic Institute and a master's degree in Agronomy from the same institution in 1941.

Nichols enlisted in the United States Army in 1942 and served five years in the European Theatre. He was wounded at the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, losing a leg in a land mine explosion. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart, and retired with the rank of Captain in 1947. Following his retirement, he lived in Sylacauga, Alabama, where he is also buried.

After military service, Nichols was employed by the Parker Fertilizer Company, and would later become president of the associated Parker Gin Company.

Prior to his congressional service, he served over an eight-year period in both houses of the Alabama Legislature, having been elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1958 and the Alabama Senate in 1962.

Nichols was elected to congress in 1966 and was reelected each year until his death in 1988.
In 1986, with retiring Republican U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, Nichols co-authored the Goldwater–Nichols Act, the far-reaching reorganization of the United States Department of Defense command structure.
Nichols voted for the Abandoned Shipwrecks Act of 1987. The Act asserts United States title to certain abandoned shipwrecks located on or embedded in submerged lands under state jurisdiction, and transfers title to the respective state, thereby empowering states to manage these cultural and historical resources more efficiently, with the goal of preventing treasure hunters and salvagers from damaging them. President Ronald Reagan signed it into law on April 28, 1988.