William Peters Hepburn (November 4, 1833 – February 7, 1916) was an American Civil War officer and an eleven-term Republican congressman from Iowa's now-obsolete 8th congressional district, serving from 1881 to 1887, and from 1893 to 1909.

[4] In May 1860, Hepburn was one of two delegates representing counties in the eleventh judicial district at the 1860 Republican National Convention, where Abraham Lincoln was nominated.

[8] After the election of President Benjamin Harrison returned the White House to Republican hands in 1889, Hepburn served as Solicitor of the Treasury.

[5] In 1899, Hepburn briefly became a candidate for election as Speaker of the House,[10] but soon deferred to the successful candidacy of fellow Iowan and Civil War veteran David B.

[13][14] Even before the publication of Upton Sinclair's expose The Jungle, Hepburn led efforts to adopt federal laws regulating food quality.

[1] The Act gave the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) the power to set maximum railroad rates and led to the discontinuation of free passes to loyal shippers.

Scholars consider the Hepburn Act the most important piece of legislation regarding railroads in the first half of the 20th century, while economists debate whether it went too far, and if its passage contributed to the Panic of 1907.

In a year of strong Republican victories in Iowa (led by presidential candidate William Howard Taft), Jamieson won majorities in eight of the district's eleven counties.

[21] After his defeat but before his final term ended, he became the chairman of a 25-member group seeking once again to reform House rules that allowed Speaker Joe Cannon to amass even greater powers.

[22] This time, Hepburn's reform efforts succeeded; Speaker Cannon was forced to surrender the power to block bills he did not like from coming to the floor once they received committee support.