Stephen M. Sparkman was born on a farm in Hernando County, Florida, on July 29, 1849.

He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1872, commencing practice in Tampa, Florida.

[2] He served as chairman of the Committee on Rivers and Harbors (Sixty-second through Sixty-fourth Congresses).

He died in Washington, D.C., on September 26, 1929, and was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery, Tampa, Florida.

[3] This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress