| William R. Orthwein | |
| Fullname: | William Robert Orthwein |
| National Team: | United States |
| Strokes: | Backstroke, freestyle, water polo |
| Club: | Missouri Athletic Club |
| Collegeteam: | Yale University |
| Birth Date: | October 16, 1881 |
| Birth Place: | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Death Place: | St. Louis, Missouri |
William Robert Orthwein (October 16, 1881 – October 2, 1955) was an American sportsman, attorney, business executive and political activist.[1]
William Robert Orthwein was born on October 16, 1881. His father, William D. Orthwein, was a German-born grain merchant.
Orthwein graduated from Yale University.[2] While at Yale in November 1902, he was arrested on charges of assaulting a ticket seller for a Yale-Harvard football game;[3] one month later, he was fined for it.[4]
Orthwein competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics as a freestyle and backstroke swimmer and water polo player.[2] He won a bronze medal as a member of the American 4x50-yard freestyle relay team and as a member of the Missouri Athletic Club water polo team. He also finished fourth in the 100-yard backstroke.[2]
Orthwein received a law degree from the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis.[2]
Orthwein was an attorney.[5] He served as the vice president and general counsel of the Kinloch Telephone Company in 1920.[6] In that capacity, he refused to sell the business to the Bell Telephone Company.[6]
During World War II, he served as a supply commissioner for the City of St. Louis.[5] Meanwhile, Orthwein joined the Republican Party.[5] In 1948, he ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor of Missouri.[5] [7]
Orthwein married Nina Kent Baldwin. They had a son, William R. Orthwein, Jr.[2]
Orthwein died on October 2, 1955, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis.[5]