Dexter Curtis

{{short description|American politician}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}

Dexter Curtis (September 12, 1828 – May 15, 1898) was an American inventor, businessman, and politician.

Born in Schenectady, New York,{{cite news|title=Dexter Curtis Dead |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26692962/dexter_curtis_18281898/ |newspaper=Wisconsin State Journal |date=May 16, 1898 |page=2 |via = Newspapers.com |accessdate = December 31, 2018 }} {{Open access}} Curtis grew up on a farm. He was in the lumber business and lived in Louisiana, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois. In 1866, Curtis moved to the town of Burke, Dane County, Wisconsin and was a farmer. Curtis invented and patented the Curtis zinc horse-collar pad. The factory for the horse-collar pads was located in Madison, Wisconsin.{{cite news|title=Death of Dexter Curtis |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26652138/dexter_curtis_18281898/ |newspaper=The Weekly Wisconsin |date=May 21, 1898 |page=2 |via = Newspapers.com |accessdate = December 30, 2018 }} {{Open access}} He also operated a dry goods business. Curtis served on the Madison Common Council and was a Democrat. In 1883, Curtis served in the Wisconsin State Senate from Madison, Wisconsin.Wisconsin Blue Book, 1883, Biographical Sketch of Dexter Curtis, p. 487. Curtis died in Madison, Wisconsin from a heart attack ("apoplexy of the heart").Death of Dexter Curtis Well Known Collar Pad Man Succumbs to Apoplexy, Madison Democrat (Madison, Wisconsin), May 17, 1898Wisconsin Its Story and Biography 1848–1913, volume 6, Ellis Baker Usher, Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York: 1914, Biographical Sketch of William Dexter Curtis, pp. 1430–1432 (Information about his father Dexter Curtis).