lawyer, politician, U.S. Senator, b. Fond du Lac. He was the grandson of Solomon Juneau (q.v.). He moved with his parents to Mayville (1876). Husting read law, took a brief law course at the Univ. of Wisconsin, was admitted to the bar in 1895, and set up a practice in Mayville. A Democrat, he served two terms as district attorney of Dodge County, and was state senator (1907-1914). In the legislature Husting was known as a liberal Democrat. He was active in the movement for workman's compensation laws, advocated the passage of an act forbidding the use of injunctions in labor disputes, and fought for adoption of a state income tax. He was also instrumental in passing laws regulating the employment of women and children in unsafe industries, was the author of the Wisconsin Waterpower Bill, and was noted for his activities in behalf of the conservation movement. Husting initiated investigations of the Wisconsin elections of 1908 that led to the passage of the state corrupt practices act. Long an advocate of the direct election of U.S. Senators, Hosting was the first Wisconsin Senator to be elected by a direct vote of the people (Nov. 1914). He served in the U.S. Senate from Mar., 1915, until his death. In the Senate, Husting was a firm supporter of President Woodrow Wilson, but his support of the President's foreign policies cost him support among the German element in Wisconsin. He career was ended abruptly when he was killed in a hunting accident. Dict. Amer. Biog.; Biog. Dir. Amer. Cong. (1928); Who Was Who in Amer. (1950); R. B. Way, Rock River Valley (3 vols., Chicago, 1926); Wis. Blue Book (1917); Madison Wis. State Journal, Oct. 22, 1917; P. O. Husting Papers.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Paul Oscar Husting Papers for details.

View a related article at Wisconsin Magazine of History Archives.

View newspaper clippings at Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles.

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[Source: Blue book]