William Stephens (American politician)

William D. Stephens
24th Governor of California
In office March 15, 1917 – January 8, 1923
Lieutenant	Arthur H. Breed Sr. C. C. Young
Preceded by	Hiram Johnson
Succeeded by	Friend Richardson
27th Lieutenant Governor of California
In office July 22, 1916 – March 15, 1917
Governor	Hiram Johnson
Preceded by	John Morton Eshleman
Succeeded by	Arthur H. Breed Sr.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California
In office March 4, 1911 – July 22, 1916
Preceded by	James McLachlan
Succeeded by	Henry S. Benedict
Constituency	7th district (1911–1913) 10th district (1913–1916)
27th Mayor of Los Angeles
In office March 15, 1909 – March 26, 1909
Preceded by	Arthur C. Harper
Succeeded by	George Alexander
Personal details
Born	William Dennison Stephens (1859-12-26)December 26, 1859 Eaton, Ohio
Died	April 25, 1944(1944-04-25) (aged 84) Los Angeles, California
Political party	Republican Progressive
Spouse	Flora E. Rawson
Children	Barbara
Profession	Engineer, politician
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1904–1914
Rank	Major
Unit	California Army National Guard

William Dennison Stephens (December 26, 1859 – April 25, 1944) was an American federal and state politician. A three-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1911 to 1916, Stephens was the 24th governor of California from 1917 to 1923. Prior to becoming Governor, Stephens served as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of California from 1916 to 1917, due to the death of John Morton Eshleman, and served a brief time as Mayor of Los Angeles in 1909 due to the resignation of Arthur C. Harper.

As Governor, he was a Progressive who kept the reforms made by his predecessor, Hiram Johnson, and remained visible throughout his governorship. He lost a bid for re-election in 1922 to California State Treasurer Friend Richardson, who campaigned on a conservative platform.