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List of superintendents of public instruction of Wisconsin

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Number of superintendents of public instruction of Wisconsin by party affiliation
Party Superintendents
None 9
Republican 6
Democratic 5
Unknown Party 3
Liberal Republican 1
National Union 1
Independent 1

This is a list of people who have held the position of Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin. Partisan affiliation is indicated by shading for superintendents elected prior to 1902, when partisan elections for this office were ended. Since 1902, state superintendents have been elected on a nonpartisan basis with no affiliation on the ballot; thus, a state superintendent is not allowed to affiliate with a political party during his or her time in office. However, an individual elected or appointed to the office of state superintendent may be a member of a political party before and after their time in office. For example, Herbert J. Grover and Charles P. Cary both held prior partisan legislative or county office whereas Tony Evers ran for and won a partisan governor's race.

# Superintendent Party Entered
office 		Left
office 		Notes
1 Eleazer Root Independent[1] January 1, 1849[2] January 5, 1852
2 Azel P. Ladd Democratic[3] January 5, 1852[2] January 2, 1854
3 Hiram A. Wright Democratic[4] January 2, 1854[2] May 29, 1855[2] Died in office.[5]
--Vacant-- May 29, 1855 June 26, 1855
4 Alfred Constantine Barry Democratic[5] June 26, 1855[2] January 4, 1858 Appointed by Governor William A. Barstow.[5]
5 Lyman Draper Democratic[6][a] January 4, 1858[2] January 2, 1860
6 Josiah Little Pickard Republican[8] January 2, 1860[2] September 30, 1864[2] Resigned.[9]
--Vacant-- September 30, 1864 October 1, 1864
7 John G. McMynn National Union[10] October 1, 1864[2] January 6, 1868 Appointed by Governor James T. Lewis, then elected in 1865.
8 Alexander J. Craig ? January 6, 1868[2] July 6, 1870[2] Died in office.
9 Samuel Fallows ? July 6, 1870[2] January 4, 1874 Appointed by Governor Lucius Fairchild, then elected in 1871.
10 Edward Searing Liberal Republican[11] January 4, 1874[2] January 7, 1878
11 William Clarke Whitford Republican[12] January 7, 1878[2] January 2, 1882
12 Robert Graham Republican[13] January 2, 1882[2] January 3, 1887
13 Jesse B. Thayer Republican[14] January 3, 1887[2] January 5, 1891
14 Oliver Elwin Wells Democratic[15] January 5, 1891[2] January 7, 1895
15 John Q. Emery Republican[16] January 7, 1895[2] January 2, 1899
16 Lorenzo D. Harvey Republican[17] January 2, 1899[2] January 5, 1903
17 Charles P. Cary None[b] January 5, 1903[2] July 1, 1921
18 John Callahan None[18] July 1, 1921[2] July 1, 1949
19 George Earl Watson None[18] July 1, 1949[c] July 1, 1961
20 Angus B. Rothwell None[18] July 1, 1961 July 1, 1966[18] Resigned.
21 William C. Kahl None[18] July 1, 1966[18] July 2, 1973 Appointed by Governor Warren P. Knowles, then elected in 1969.
22 Barbara Thompson None[18] July 2, 1973 July 6, 1981
23 Herbert J. Grover None[d][18] July 6, 1981 April 9, 1993[18] Resigned.
- Lee S. Dreyfus Republican April 9, 1993 July 7, 1993 Appointed by Governor Tommy Thompson to oversee the Department of Public Instruction.
24 John T. Benson None[18] July 7, 1993 July 2, 2001
25 Elizabeth Burmaster None[18] July 2, 2001 July 6, 2009
26 Tony Evers None[e][18] July 6, 2009 January 7, 2019 Resigned after election as governor of Wisconsin.
27 Carolyn Stanford Taylor None[18] January 7, 2019 July 5, 2021 Appointed by Governor Tony Evers.
28 Jill Underly None[18] July 5, 2021 --Current--

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Draper also appeared on the Reform Democratic ticket.[7]
  2. ^ Previously a Republican county superintendent of schools.
  3. ^ Technically Watson delayed beginning his first term for about a week due to an issue with pending legislation, but he was appointed by the governor to take office in an acting capacity on the regular schedule.
  4. ^ Previously a Democratic state legislator
  5. ^ He subsequently was elected governor running as a Democrat.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "School Superintendant [sic]" (PDF). Independent American and General Advertiser. Platteville, Wisconsin. November 4, 1848. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Anderson, William J. (1929). William A. Anderson (ed.). The Wisconsin blue book, 1929. Madison, Wisconsin: Democrat Printing Company. p. 155. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
  3. ^ "State Democratic Nominations" (PDF). The Kenosha Democrat. Kenosha, Wisconsin. November 1, 1851. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  4. ^ "Democratic State Nominations" (PDF). Appleton Post-Crescent. Appleton, Wisconsin. November 5, 1853. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  5. ^ a b c "The Appointment of Mr. Barry" (PDF). Daily Argus and Democrat. Madison, Wisconsin. June 20, 1855. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  6. ^ "Democratic Nominations" (PDF). The Daily Wisconsin Patriot. Madison, Wisconsin. November 2, 1857. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  7. ^ "Reform Democratic Ticket" (PDF). The Daily Wisconsin Patriot. Madison, Wisconsin. November 2, 1857. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  8. ^ "Republican State Ticket" (PDF). The La Crosse Daily Republican. La Crosse, Wisconsin. November 1, 1859. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  9. ^ "General Election Notice" (PDF). The Waukesha Freeman. Waukesha, Wisconsin. October 4, 1864. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  10. ^ "National Union Nominations" (PDF). The Waukesha Freeman. Waukesha, Wisconsin. October 25, 1864. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  11. ^ Wisconsin Blue Book. 1877. p. 446.
  12. ^ Wisconsin Blue Book. 1881. p. 492.
  13. ^ Wisconsin Blue Book (PDF). 1882. p. 527.
  14. ^ Wisconsin Blue Book (PDF). 1887. p. 483.
  15. ^ Wisconsin Blue Book (PDF). 1893. p. 306.
  16. ^ Wisconsin Blue Book (PDF). 1895. p. 662.
  17. ^ "Harvey, Lorenzo Dow 1848 - 1922". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barish, Lawrence S., ed. (2007). "Chapter 8: Statistical Information on Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2007–2008 (PDF). Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 723. ISBN 978-0-9752820-2-1. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
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