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Term: Bashford, Robert Mckee 1845 - 1911

Definition:

lawyer, politician, judge, b. Fayette. He graduated from the Univ. of Wisconsin (B.A., 1870; LL.B., 1871; M.A., 1874). He was co-owner of the Madison Democrat (1871-1876), and in 1876 began to practice law. A Democrat, he held numerous local offices, including that of city attorney (1881-1886). He practiced law in Chicago (1886-1889), and shortly after his return to Wisconsin was elected mayor of Madison (1890). In 1892, with the Democrats in power, he assisted the state attorney general in prosecuting former state treasurers for the return of interest they had collected on the deposit of public funds. He was state senator (1893-1897), and a member of the law faculty of the Univ. of Wisconsin (1885-1886, 1893, 1903- 1908). In 1908 he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the state supreme court but was defeated six months later in the special election to fill the term. Wis. Reports, 150 (1912), pp. xxvii-xxxiii; A. J. Aikens and L. A. Proctor, eds., Men of Progress. Wis. (Milwaukee, 1897); Madison Democrat, Jan. 31, 1911.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Robert McKee Bashford Letter for details.