William A. Purtell
| Willam Arthur Purtell | |
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United States Senator from Connecticut |
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In office August 29, 1952 – November 4, 1952 |
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| Preceded by | Brien McMahon |
| Succeeded by | Prescott Bush |
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In office January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1959 |
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| Preceded by | William Benton |
| Succeeded by | Thomas J. Dodd |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 6, 1897 Hartford, Connecticut |
| Died | May 31, 1978 (aged 81) West Hartford, Connecticut |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Katherine Elizabeth Cassidy |
William Arthur Purtell (May 6, 1897 – May 31, 1978) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Connecticut in the United States Senate in 1952 and from 1953 to 1959.
William Purtell was born in a tenement neighborhood of Hartford, Connecticut. He was the son of Thomas Michael and Nora Mary (née O'Connor) Purtell, who were tobacco workers. He received his early education at St. Patrick's School, and attended Hartford Public High School for two years before dropping out at age 15. He then worked as a janitor, water boy, and car checker for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.
During World War I, he served with the radio section of the U.S. Army Expeditionary Force in France, being discharged as a corporal in 1919. That same year, he married Katherine Elizabeth Cassidy; the couple had a son, William, and a daughter, Margaret.
After working as a salesman from ten years, Purtell co-founded the Holo-Krome Screw Corporation of West Hartford in 1929 and served as its president, treasurer, and general manager until 1952. He also served as president, treasurer, and general manager (1937-1944) and later chairman (1944-1947) of the Billings & Spencer Company of Hartford. From 1938 to 1952, he served as vice-president, treasurer, and general manager of the Sparmal Engineering Corporation. He was also director of the Hartford Red Cross and one of the executive directors of the Connecticut State Prison.
Purtell unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for Governor of Connecticut in 1950, losing to Congressman John Davis Lodge. He was one of the first political leaders in Connecticut to support General Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1952 presidential election.
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