orig. James Beauchamp Clark
born March 7, 1850, near Lawrenceburg, Ky., U.S.
died March 2, 1921, Washington, D.C.
U.S. politician.
Clark moved to Missouri in 1876 and settled at Bowling Green. He was successively a newspaper editor, a prosecuting attorney, and a state legislator; he was then elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served 13 terms (189395, 18971921). A follower of William Jennings Bryan , he supported agrarian measures. As a member of the House rules committee in 1910, he led the revolt against Joseph Cannon and succeeded him as speaker (191119). At the 1912 Democratic Party convention, Clark was a leading contender for the presidential nomination until Bryan switched his support to Woodrow Wilson.