List of People From Wisconsin - Politicians and Activists

Politicians and Activists

• Glory of the Morning The only female chief ever recorded in the oral history of the Ho-Chunk nation.

• Glenn A. Abbey (1898–1962), U.S. diplomat (Dodgeville)
• Alva Adams (1850–1922), Governor of Colorado (Iowa County)
• Billy Adams (1861–1954), Governor of Colorado (Blue Mounds)
• J. Frank Aldrich (1853–1933), U.S. Representative from Illinois (Two Rivers)
• William Aldrich (1820–1885), U.S. Representative from Illinois (Fond du Lac)
• William A. Anderson (1873–1954), Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota (Adams County)
• George R. Andrews (1808–1873), U.S. Representative from New York (Oshkosh)
• Walter Annenberg (1908–2002), U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom (Milwaukee)
• Les Aspin (1938–1995), Congressman and Secretary of Defense (Milwaukee)
• Gerhard A. Bading (1870–1946), U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee)
• John Miller Baer (1886–1970), U.S. Representative from North Dakota (Black Creek)
• Hiram Barber, Jr. (1835–1924), U.S. Representative from Illinois (Horicon, Juneau)
• Thomas M. Barrett (b. 1953), Congressman and Mayor of Milwaukee (Milwaukee)
• William A. Barstow (1813–1865), Governor (Waukesha, Janesville)
• Coles Bashford (1816–1878), Governor, U.S. Congressional Delegate from the Arizona Territory (Oshkosh)
• David L. Bazelon (1909–1993), Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (Superior)
• Charles S. Benton (1810–1882), U.S. Representative from New York (Milwaukee, La Crosse)
• Benjamin P. Birdsall (1858–1917), U.S. Representative from Iowa (Weyauwega)
• John J. Blaine (1875–1934), Governor and U.S. Senator (Wingville)
• C.A. Bottolfsen (1891–1964), Governor of Idaho (Superior)
• Matthias J. Bovee (1793–1872), U.S. Representative from New York (Milwaukee, Eagle)
• Edward S. Bragg (1827–1912), U.S. diplomat (Fond du Lac)
• John A. Bryan (1794–1864), U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee, Menasha)
• James Budd (1851–1908), California Governor (Janesville)
• George Bunn (1865–1918), Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court (Sparta)
• John H. Burke (1894–1951), U.S. Representative from California (Excelsior)
• John R. Burke (1924–1993), U.S. diplomat (Madison)
• Charles C. Butler, Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court (Milwaukee)
• John W. Byrnes (1913–1985), U.S. Representative (Green Bay)
• Thomas Cale (1848–1941), U.S. Congressional Delegate from the Alaska Territory (Fond du Lac)
• John Benton Callis (1828–1898), U.S. Representative from Alabama (Lancaster)
• Lois Capps (1938–), U.S. Representative from California (Ladysmith)
• Milton Robert Carr (1943–), U.S. Representative from Michigan (Janesville)
• Carrie Chapman Catt (1859–1947), feminist (Ripon)
• Eugene W. Chafin (1852–1920), Prohibition Party candidate for President of the United States (East Troy, Waukesha)
• Kathryn F. Clarenbach (1920–1994), first chairwoman of the National Organization for Women (Sparta)
• Paul Clement (1966–), Attorney General of the United States (Town of Cedarburg)
• Cliff Clevenger (1885–1960), U.S. Representative from Ohio (Appleton)
• Wilbur J. Cohen (1913–1987), U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (Milwaukee)
• Harmon Sweatland Conger (1816–1882), U.S. Representative from New York (Janesville)
• Willis C. Cook (1874–1942), U.S. diplomat (Gratiot)
• Henry A. Cooper (1850–1931), U.S. Representative (Spring Prairie, Burlington, Racine)
• Michael Copps (1940–), Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission (Milwaukee)
• John W. Cox, Jr. (1947–), U.S. Representative from Illinois (Hazel Green)
• Kenneth H. Dahlberg (1917–), figure in the Watergate scandal, later cleared (Wilson)
• Henry C. A. Damm (1874–1929), U.S. diplomat (Waushara County)
• Joseph E. Davies (1876–1958), U.S. diplomat (Watertown)
• Charles G. Dawes (1865–1951), Vice President of the United States (La Crosse)
• Thomas Cleland Dawson (1865–1912), U.S. diplomat (Hudson)
• Ada Deer (b. 1935), Native American/Menominee activist, former BIA official (Keshena).
• Peter V. Deuster (1831–1904), U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee, Port Washington)
• Bernardine Dohrn (b. 1942), activist (Milwaukee)
• Michael Dombeck, former Chief of the US Forest Service
• F. Ryan Duffy (1888–1979), Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (Fond du Lac)
• Charles Durkee (1805–1870), U.S. Senator, Governor of the Utah Territory (Kenosha)
• Lawrence Eagleburger (1930–2011), Secretary of State (Milwaukee)
• John E. Erickson (1863–1946), U.S. Senator from Montana (Stoughton)
• John J. Esch (1861–1941), U.S. Representative (Norwalk, La Crosse)
• Experience Estabrook (1813–1894), U.S. Congressional Delegate from Nebraska Territory (Geneva)
• Evan Alfred Evans (1876–1948), Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (Spring Green, Baraboo)
• Lucius Fairchild (1831–1896), U.S. diplomat (Madison)
• Thomas E. Fairchild (1912–2007), Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (Milwaukee)
• Jacob Fawcett, Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court (Benton)
• Russ Feingold (born 1953), U.S. Senator and co-author of McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform Act (Janesville, Middleton)
• William R. Finch (1847–1913), U.S. diplomat (Walworth County)
• Albert Fowler (1802–1883), Mayor of Rockford, Illinois (Milwaukee, Wauwatosa)
• Selena Fox (born 1949), Wiccan priestess, religious-rights activist, and founder of Circle Sanctuary and Pagan Spirit Gathering
• James A. Frear (1861–1939), U.S. Representative (Hudson)
• George A. Garrett (1888–1971), U.S. diplomat (La Crosse)
• Hiram Gill (1866–1919), Mayor of Seattle, Washington (Watertown)
• James Gillett (1860–1937), U.S. Representative from California (Viroqua, Sparta)
• Callista Gingrich (born 1966), wife of former Speaker Newt Gingrich (Whitehall)
• Guy D. Goff (1866–1933), U.S. Senator from West Virginia (Milwaukee)
• William Goodell (1792–1878), prominent abolitionist, candidate for President of the United States (Janesville)
• Warren Green (1870–1945), Governor of South Dakota (Jackson County)
• John A. Gronouski (1919–1996), U.S. Postmaster General (Dunbar, Green Bay)
• Richard W. Guenther (1845–1913), U.S. diplomat (Oshkosh)
• Herbert James Hagerman (1871–1935), Governor of the New Mexico Territory (Milwaukee)
• Darwin Hall (1844–1919), U.S. Representative from Minnesota (Wheatland, Grand Rapids)
• John Hammill (1875–1936), Governor of Iowa (Linden)
• Henry C. Hansbrough (1848–1933), U.S. Senator from North Dakota (Baraboo)
• Ole Hanson (1874–1940), Mayor of Seattle, Washington (Racine County)
• Mildred Harnack (1902–1943), resistance fighter in Nazi Germany (Milwaukee)
• Gilbert N. Haugen (1859–1933), U.S. Representative from Iowa (Orfordville)
• Everis A. Hayes (1855–1942), U.S. Representative from California (Waterloo)
• Ned R. Healy (1905–1977), U.S. Representative from California (Milwaukee)
• Charles N. Herreid (1857–1928), Governor of South Dakota (Madison)
• Lorena Hickok (1893–1968), friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, helped Harry Hopkins with fact finding missions during the New Deal (East Troy)
• Fred H. Hildebrandt (1874–1956), U.S. Representative from South Dakota (West Bend, Waupun)
• George H. Hodges (1866–1947), Governor of Kansas (Orion)
• Adoniram J. Holmes (1842–1902), U.S. Representative from Iowa (Palmyra)
• Timothy O. Howe (1816–1883), U.S. Postmaster General (Green Bay)
• Daniel Hugunin, Jr. (1790–1850), U.S. Representative from New York (Kenosha)
• Merlin Hull (1870–1953), U.S. Representative (Black River Falls)
• Paul O. Husting (1866–1917), U.S. Senator (Fond du Lac)
• Edward H. Jenison (1907–1996), U.S. Representative from Illinois (Fond du Lac)
• J. Leroy Johnson (1888–1961), U.S. Representative from California (Wausau)
• Martin N. Johnson (1850–1909), U.S. Senator from North Dakota (Racine County)
• Charles Jonas (1840–1896), U.S. diplomat (Racine)
• Edgar A. Jonas (1885–1965), U.S. Representative from Illinois (Mishicot)
• Francis B. Keene, U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee)
• Oscar Keller (1878–1927), U.S. Representative from Minnesota (Helenville)
• John Edward Kelley (1853–1941), U.S. Representative from South Dakota (Portage)
• George F. Kennan (1904–2005), diplomat (Milwaukee)
• Rufus King (1814–1876), U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee)

• Jerry Kleczka (1943–), U.S. Representative (Milwaukee)
• Herb Kohl (born 1935), U.S. Senator and sports-franchise owner (Milwaukee)
• Julius Albert Krug (1907–1970), U.S. Secretary of the Interior (Madison)
• Paul John Kvale (1896–1960), U.S. Representative from Minnesota (Orfordville)
• Robert M. La Follette, Sr. (1855–1925), Congressman, Governor and U.S. Senator (Primrose, Madison)
• Robert M. La Follette, Jr. (1895–1953), U.S. Senator (Madison)
• Mel Laird (born 1922), Congressman and Secretary of Defense (Marshfield)
• Richard D. Lamm (1935–), Governor of Colorado, Reform Party candidate for President of the United States (Madison)
• Gilbert L. Laws (1838–1907), U.S. Representative from Nebraska (Richland Center)
• Irvine Lenroot (1869–1949), U.S. Senator (Superior)
• Jerris G. Leonard (1931–2006), Administrator of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (Milwaukee)
• Francis O. Lindquist (1869–1924), U.S. Representative from Michigan (Marinette)
• Thomas A. Livesley (1863–1947), Mayor of Salem, Oregon (Ironton)
• Thomas A. Loftus (1945–), U.S. diplomat (Stoughton)
• James B. Loken (1940–), Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (Madison)
• Don Lathrop Love (1863–1940), Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska (Janesville)

• Patrick Joseph Lucey (1918–), U.S. diplomat, Independent candidate for Vice President of the United States (La Crosse, Prairie du Chien)
• William Josiah MacDonald (1873–1946), U.S. Representative from Michigan (Potosi)
• Henry Markham (1840–1923), U.S. Representative from California (Milwaukee)
• John McCarthy (1857–1943), U.S. Representative from Nebraska (Stoughton)
• Joseph McCarthy (1908–1957), U.S. Senator (Grand Chute, Shawano)
• James McCleary (1853–1924), U.S. Representative from Minnesota (Maiden Rock)
• Myron Hawley McCord (1840–1908), U.S. Representative, Governor of the Arizona Territory (Shawano, Merrill)
• George de Rue Meiklejohn (1857–1929), U.S. Representative from Nebraska (Weyauwega)
• Golda Meir (1898–1978), Israeli Prime Minister (Milwaukee)
• Abner J. Mikva (1926–), U.S. Representative from Illinois (Milwaukee)
• John L. Mitchell (1842–1904), Congressman and U.S. Senator (Milwaukee)
• Charles Henry Morgan (1842–1912), U.S. Representative from Missouri (Pewaukee)
• John Morrow (1865–1935), U.S. Representative from New Mexico (Darlington)
• Wayne L. Morse (1900–1974), U.S. Senator from Oregon (Madison)
• Mary Mullarkey (1943–), Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court (New London)
• Robert Daniel Murphy (1894–1978), U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee)
• Philleo Nash (1909–1987), Commissioner of the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs (Wisconsin Rapids)
• Gaylord Nelson (1916–2005), Governor and U.S. Senator (Clear Lake, Madison)
• Knute Nelson (1843–1923), U.S. Senator from Minnesota (Palmyra, Madison)
• Orsen N. Nielsen, U.S. diplomat (Beloit)
• William Nordeen (1936–1988), U.S. diplomat assassinated by the terrorist group Revolutionary Organization 17 November (Amery, Centuria)
• Frank Nye (1852–1935), U.S. Representative from Minnesota (River Falls, Hudson)
• Gerald Nye (1892–1971), U.S. Senator from North Dakota (Hortonville, Wittenberg)
• Dave Obey (1938–), U.S. Representative (Wausau)
• Mike O'Callaghan (1929–2004), Governor of Nevada (La Crosse)
• Kenneth J. O'Connell (1909–2000), Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court (Bayfield)
• Alvin O'Konski (1904–1987), U.S. Representative (Kewaunee, Rhinelander)
• Ole H. Olson (1872–1954), Governor of North Dakota (Mondovi)
• Halbert E. Paine (1826–1905), U.S. Representative (Milwaukee)
• Henry C. Payne (1843–1904), Postmaster General of the United States (Milwaukee)
• James Breck Perkins (1847–1910), U.S. Representative from New York (St. Croix Falls)
• Russell W. Peterson (1916–), Governor of Delaware (Portage)
• Tom Petri (1940–), U.S. Representative (Marinette, Fond du Lac)
• Augustus Herman Pettibone (1825–1918), U.S. Representative from Tennessee (La Crosse)
• Milton Rice Polland (1909–2006), Marshall Islands diplomat (Milwaukee)
• John F. Potter (1817–1899), U.S. diplomat (East Troy)
• Steve Preston (born 1960), SBA administrator, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Janesville)
• J. A. O. Preus (1883–1961), Governor of Minnesota (Columbia County)
• Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee (Kenosha)
• William Proxmire (1915–2005), U.S. Senator (Madison)
• Joseph V. Quarles (1943–1911), U.S. Senator (Kenosha)
• Alexander Randall (1819–1872), U.S. Postmaster General (Waukesha)
• Edwin M. Randall (1822–1895), Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court (Waukesha)
• Louise Goff Reece (1898–1970), U.S. Representative from Tennessee (Milwaukee)
• William Rehnquist (1924–2005), U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice (Milwaukee, Shorewood)
• Paul Samuel Reinsch (1869–1923), U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee)
• Henry S. Reuss (1912–2002), U.S. Representative (Milwaukee)
• James DeNoon Reymert (1821–1896), State legislator and newspaper publisher (Muskego, Norway)
• William A. Richards (1849–1912), Wyoming Governor (Town of Hazel Green)
• Jim Risch (1943–), U.S. Senator from Idaho (Milwaukee)
• Charles R. Robertson (1889–1951), U.S. Representative from North Dakota (Madison)
• Thomas J. B. Robinson (1868–1958), U.S. Representative from Iowa (New Diggings)
• Thomas H. Ruger (1833–1907), Governor of Georgia (Janesville)
• Loret Miller Ruppe (1936–1996), U.S. diplomat (Milwaukee)
• Jeremiah McLain Rusk (1830–1893), U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (Viroqua)
• Paul Ryan (1970–), U.S. Representative (Janesville) and 2012 Republican Vice Presidential candidate
• George Myron Sabin (1833–1890), U.S. District Court Judge in Nevada (Madison)
• Elmore Y. Sarles (1859–1929), Governor of North Dakota (Wonewoc)
• Charles R. Savage (1906–1976), U.S. Representative from Washington (La Farge)
• John G. Schmitz (1930–2001), U.S. Representative from California, American Independent Party candidate for President of the United States (Milwaukee)
• Lester Schnare, U.S. diplomat (Mondovi)
• Carl Schurz (1829–1906), U.S. Secretary of the Interior (Watertown, Milwaukee)
• Lewis B. Schwellenbach (1894–1948), U.S. Secretary of Labor (Superior)
• Stuart Nash Scott (1906–1991), U.S. diplomat (Madison)
• Jim Sensenbrenner (1943–), U.S. Representative (Shorewood)
• Carlos D. Shelden (1840–1904), U.S. Representative from Michigan (Walworth)
• James Shields (1810–1879), U.S. Senator from Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri
• Henry Hastings Sibley (1811–1891), U.S. Congressional Delegate, Governor of Minnesota
• Albert Smith (1805–1870), U.S. Representative from New York (Milwaukee)
• Daniel V. Speckhard (1959–), U.S. diplomat (Clintonville)
• William H. Stafford (1869–1957), U.S. Representative (Milwaukee)
• Pete Stark (1931–), U.S. Representative from California (Milwaukee)
• George A. Starkweather (1794–1879), U.S. Representative from New York (Milwaukee)
• Halvor Steenerson (1852–1926), U.S. Representative from Minnesota (Pleasant Springs)
• Janet Dempsey Steiger (1939–2004), Chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission (Oshkosh)
• William Story (1843–1921), Lieutenant Governor of Colorado (Milwaukee)
• William H.H. Stowell (1840–1922), U.S. Representative from Virginia (Appleton)
• Robert C. Strong (1915–1999), U.S. diplomat (Beloit)
• Bart Stupak (born 1952), Michigan Congressman (Milwaukee)
• Clark W. Thompson, U.S. Representative from Texas (La Crosse)
• Tommy Thompson (born 1941), Governor, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and 2008 candidate for President (Elroy)
• Peter G. Torkildsen (1958–), U.S. Representative from Massachusetts (Milwaukee)
• William M. Treloar (1850–1935), U.S. Representative from Missouri (Linden)
• Fran Ulmer (1947–), Lieutenant Governor of Alaska (Horicon)
• Robert Scadden Vessey (1858–1929), Governor of South Dakota (Oshkosh)
• William Freeman Vilas (1840–1908), U.S. Postmaster General and U.S. Secretary of the Interior (Madison)
• Aad J. Vinje (1857–1929), Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. (Superior)
• Davis H. Waite (1825–1901), Governor of Colorado (Princeton)
• Thomas J. Walsh (1859–1933), U.S. Senator and main prosecutor in the Teapot Dome Scandal hearings (Two Rivers)
• William Warner (1840–1916), U.S. Senator from Missouri (Shullsburg, Madison)
• Cadwallader C. Washburn (1818–1882), U.S. Representative (Mineral Point, La Crosse)
• Paul Weyrich (1942–2008), commentator (Racine)
• Alexander Wiley (1884–1967), U.S. Senator (Chippewa Falls)
• Frances Willard (1839–1898), suffragist and temperance activist (Janesville)
• John A. Williams (1835–1900), U.S. District Court Judge in Arkansas (Delafield)
• Gardner R. Withrow (1892–1964), U.S. Representative (La Crosse)
• Leonard G. Wolf (1925–1970), U.S. Representative from Iowa (Mazomanie)
• Frank P. Woods (1868–1944), U.S. Representative from Iowa (Sharon)
• Clement J. Zablocki (1912–1983), U.S. Representative (Milwaukee)
• Frank Zeidler (1912–2006), mayor of Milwaukee, Socialist Party candidate for president in 1976 (Milwaukee)
• Roger H. Zion (1921–), U.S. Representative from Indiana (Milwaukee)