Richard Elsner (May 29, 1859 – January 18, 1938) was an American

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and

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from

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, who served one term as a

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

Background

Elsner was born May 29, 1859, in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

. He attended public school, ''gymnasium'' and

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in Germany. He came to Milwaukee in 1880 and became a leader of the Brewery Workers Union by 1886. Later he attended

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

and the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin Law School is guided by a "law in ...

where he graduated in 1894, becoming a self-described "practicing lawyer by profession."

Politics and public office

By 1898, he was the Socialist nominee for

Attorney General of Wisconsin The Attorney General of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Forty-five individuals have held the office of Attorney General since statehood. The incumbent is Josh Kaul, ...

, coming in fifth in a six-way race. In 1900, he was again the nominee, placing fourth in a five-way race; by 1902, he had moved up to third in another five-way race, repeating the performance in 1906. He was a

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Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous coun ...

from 1910 to 1916. In 1916 he was the Socialist nominee for the

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, coming in third in a four-way race in which incumbent

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Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855June 18, 1925), was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th Governor of Wisconsin. A Republican for most of his ...

was re-elected. In 1919 Elsner was elected

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of Milwaukee County for the first of two terms. He was elected a member of the assembly in November, 1922 in a fierce contest (

Victor Berger Victor Luitpold Berger (February 28, 1860August 7, 1929) was an Austrian–American socialist politician and journalist who was a founding member of the Social Democratic Party of America and its successor, the Socialist Party of America. Born in ...

was reported to have said, "Mr. Leander Pierson belongs in the legislature of Pennsylvania, or New York, or Hell-- but not in Wisconsin!"), receiving 1,679 votes to

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Republican

Leander J. Pierson Leander J. Pierson (November 29, 1872 – October 21, 1935) was an American politician and quarryman. Born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Pierson went to Oshkosh Normal School (now University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh). He was in the quarrying busines ...

's 1663 votes. He was appointed to the

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on the

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and on

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and

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. In 1924 he was not a candidate for re-election, and was succeeded by Republican Ernst F. Pahl.

After legislative service

His papers are in the Special Collections of the Golda Meier Library of the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

.Richard Elsner Papers, 1854-1967
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elsner, Richard 1859 births 1938 deaths Brewery workers Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Lawyers from Milwaukee Socialist Party of America politicians from Wisconsin University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Wisconsin lawyers Wisconsin state court judges Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States