Nick Wilson was born on March 12, 1942, in Monette, Arkansas. He earned a BS from Arkansas State University and a law degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law. In 1969, he served as a representative to the Arkansas Constitutional Convention. In 1970, he entered the Arkansas Senate as a Democrat representing Pocahontas. Wilson developed an adversarial relationship with Governor Clinton during his time in the Senate. Famously, when Clinton and his lieutenant governor were out of state, Wilson used his position as Senate President Pro Tempore to declare himself acting state governor, seizing control of the state government and demoting several Clinton staffers as well as attempting to make several board appointments. Wilson would resign from the Senate in 1999 after the federal government charged him with leading a massive fraud and corruption ring. He eventually plead guilty and served six years in prison. He was released in 2005.
#1: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Nick Wilson; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2012
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Nick Wilson at the podium in the Senate chamber of the Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock, Arkansas
© Photo credit: W. J. "Bill" McCuen, Secretary of State
#3: Senator Nick Wilson (3rd from left) with fellow senators Mike Beebe, Jon Fitch, David Malone, Kent Ingram, and Jerry Bookout, Capitol Hotel, Little Rock, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Nick Wilson (1st row, seated) in the Arkansas Senate chamber
Photo credit: W. J. "Bill" McCuen, Secretary of State
© Photo credit: W. J. "Bill" McCuen, Secretary of State
#5: Nick Wilson (left) with Secretary of State Bill McCuen, Darrell Johnson, and wife, Susan (Shaddox) Wilson.
© Photo credit: W. J. "Bill" McCuen, Secretary of State
#6: Nick Wilson receives the president pro tempore gavel from Paul Benham, 1987
© Photo credit: W. J. "Bill" McCuen, Secretary of State
#7: Nick Wilson as president pro tempore of the Arkansas Senate, Little Rock, Arkansas; January 1987
© Photo credit: W. J. "Bill" McCuen, Secretary of State
#8: Nick Wilson (left) with his son, Alex, daughter, Angela, and wife, Susan, 1987
© Photo credit: W. J. "Bill" McCuen, Secretary of State
#9: Nick Wilson (seated) with freshman senators George Hopkins, Mike Kincaid, and Mike Bearden, 1987
© Photo credit: W. J. "Bill" McCuen, Secretary of State
#10: Nick Wilson (right) with Chris Burrow in the Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1987
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: Nick Wilson, Mexico; April 25, 1987
© Photo credit: W. J. "Bill" McCuen, Secretary of State
#12: Nick Wilson (center) as acting governor, 1987
© Photo credit: W. J. "Bill" McCuen, Secretary of State
#13: Nick Wilson as acting governor with land commissioner Charlie Daniels
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: Letter to Nick Wilson from Arkansas Democrat editor, John Robert Starr, dated February 8, 1988, challenging Wilson and anyone else in the Senate to an IQ contest. It is both a real offer and a humorous jab. Starr sometimes refered to Nick WIlson as "Chicken Nick." The letter's salutation is "Dear Chicken."
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: Front of postcard Nick Wilson received from Governor Bill Clinton
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: Back of postcard Nick Wilson received from Governor Bill Clinton; text reads: "Nick - - Thanks for the beautiful citation. - I wish I had one of your talking things - Here is a postcard about your life and career. Best Bill"
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Nick Wilson; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2012
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Nick Wilson; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2012
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
