William C. Lantaff

Who was William C. Lantaff?

William Courtland "Bill" Lantaff was a Democratic politician from Florida. He served as State court judge in Florida, 1939; member of Florida House of Representatives, 1947–50; U.S. Representative from Florida 4th District, 1951-55. He did not run for renomination in 1954.

Lantaff's family moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 1921 and to Miami, Florida in 1929. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1935 and from the University of Florida College of Law in 1936. He was admitted to the Florida bar in 1937 and practiced law in Miami, serving as assistant city judge of Miami Beach in 1939 and 1940. He was inducted into the Florida National Guard as a first lieutenant in January 1941 where he served as executive officer for the Military Intelligence Division of the War Department General Staff. He was discharged as a lieutenant colonel in November 1945 but returned to active duty from September through December 1950, while he was running for Congress.

Lantaff was a delegate to the 1956 and 1960 Democratic National Conventions. At the conclusion of his political career, he returned to the law and was involved in banking and advertising. In 1967, he became a founding board member of the Dade Community Foundation. He died in 1970 at the age of 56 and is buried in Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum, Miami.