David W. Dennis
- January 6, 1999
- 86 years
About David W. Dennis
David W. Dennis, 86, American politician, Representative from Indiana (1969–1975).
Explore other notable deaths in 1999 or deaths in January 1999.
The Deaths Archive presents
How well do you know David W. Dennis?
Explore their life. Test your knowledge. Beat the challenge.
10 questions · One legacy · How much do you really know?
Challenge your friends
Play together in real-time.
Full Biography
|David Worth Dennis II (June 7, 1912 – January 6, 1999) was an American attorney and Republican United States Representative from Indiana from 1969 to 1975.
Early life and education
He was born in Washington, D.C., and was named for his grandfather, David Worth Dennis who had been a professor at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. His father, William Cullen Dennis was president of Earlham College. He graduated from Sidwell Friends School in 1929 and earned an A.B. degree from Earlham College in 1933. He also received an LL.B. (now J.D.) from Harvard Law School in 1936. He was admitted to the bar in 1935 and commenced practice in Richmond, Indiana in 1936.
Political career
Dennis served as the prosecuting attorney for Wayne County, Indiana from 1939 to 1943. He enlisted in the United States Army and served from 1944 to 1946. He was commissioned a first lieutenant, JAG department, and served in the Pacific Theater. He was elected state representative from Wayne County to the Indiana General Assembly and served 1947–1949. He was also a joint State representative from Wayne and Union Counties from 1953 to 1959.
Congress
He was elected as a Republican to the Ninety-first Congress and reelected twice (January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1975). Dennis was a staunch defender of President Richard M. Nixon during the Watergate scandal. As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Dennis was in the minority voting to oppose impeachment of the president in 1974. However, when the "smoking gun" tape was released, Dennis said he would vote to impeach for obstruction of justice, as did all nine Republicans on the committee who had previously opposed impeachment. Dennis said that Nixon "destroyed his credibility" by withholding the tape for so long.
He was defeated for reelection that same year by Democrat Phil Sharp.
Later career and death
He resumed the practice of law until his death in Richmond in 1999.
Content from Wikipedia — licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Interactive
Test Your Knowledge – Trivia Challenge
How well do you know this person's life and legacy?
No account needed to play. Sign in to keep your score on the leaderboard.
Books & Media
Find books, audiobooks and films about David W. Dennis on Amazon.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_W._Dennis
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sep 26, 2026
- View article
- Sep 26, 2026
Explore the archive
People who died on January 6
Spotted an error?
Help us keep the archive accurate. Report a correction with a source.
Report an error for David W. Dennis →












