lawyer, b. Merton, Waukesha County. He graduated from Oshkosh state normal school (1901), and taught for several years in Oshkosh. He later studied law at the Univ. of Wisconsin and the Univ. of Chicago, and in 1908 was admitted to the bar. He set up a law practice in Oshkosh, where he practiced for most of his life. Dempsey was president of the state bar association (1928-1929), and in this capacity advocated more extensive legal training for admission to the bar. He also served as a trustee of Lawrence College, and was a member (1914-1949) and president (1924-1949) of the state board of normal regents. In this position he was instrumental in greatly expanding the scope of normal instruction, and in enlarging the normal program from two-year teacher training programs to four-year colleges. While Dempsey was president of the board, the state's normal schools were officially retitled State Teacher's Colleges. He lived in Oshkosh until his death, and had business interests in numerous enterprises in that city. F. L. Holmes, et al., eds., Wis. (5 vols., Chicago, 1946); Wis. Blue Book (1927); Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, July 25, 1956; Milwaukee Journal, July 25, 1956.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Edward J. Dempsey Papers for details.

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[Source: Blue book]