Walter D. Corrigan Sr.
{{Short description|American lawyer and politician (1875–1951)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{infobox officeholder
|name = Walter D. Corrigan Sr.
|office = District Attorney of Waushara County, Wisconsin
| term_start = January 1, 1899
| term_end = January 1, 1901
| predecessor = Edward F. Kileen
| successor = Edward F. Kileen
|party = {{unbulleted list
| Progressive (1934–1946)
}}
|birth_date = {{birth date|1875|12|28}}
|birth_place = Almond, Wisconsin, U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|1951|11|24|1875|12|28}}
|death_place = Mequon, Wisconsin, U.S.
|restingplace = Lone Pine Cemetery, {{nowrap|Almond, Wisconsin}}
|spouse = {{unbulleted list
| {{marriage|Jessie Anna Donaldson||1925|end=died}}
| {{marriage|Libby Miller|1926|1951}}
}}
|children = {{unbulleted list
| Walter Dickson Corrigan Jr.
| {{sup|(b. 1900; died 1938)}}
| Robert La Follette Corrigan
| {{sup|(b. 1903; died 1903)}}
| Helen Francis (Iekel)
| {{sup|(b. 1905; died 1988)}}
| Jessie Elizabeth (Pegis)
| {{sup|(b. 1907; died 1988)}}
| Paul Corrigan
| {{sup|(b. 1910; died 1910)}}
| Thomas MacDonald Corrigan
| {{sup|(b. 1918; died 1992)}}
}}
|education = Iowa State University
Drake University Law School
|profession = Lawyer, politician
}}
Walter Dickson Corrigan Sr. (December 28, 1875{{spnd}}November 24, 1951) was an American lawyer and progressive Republican politician from Wisconsin. He was a protégé of Wisconsin progressive leader Robert M. "Fighting Bob" La Follette. Corrigan served as district attorney of Waushara County, Wisconsin, and was selected as a special prosecutor to try a 1929 civil campaign finance case against then-governor Walter J. Kohler Sr.—it was the only time a sitting Wisconsin governor was put on trial as a defendant.{{cite news|url= https://captimes.com/about/cap-times-history-fighting-the-klan-growing-stronger/article_d4ea8da4-6a61-5d56-b443-d83cb1b7d24f.html |title= Cap Times history: Fighting the Klan, growing stronger |first= Mike |last= Miller |newspaper= The Capital Times |date= December 13, 2009 |accessdate= September 4, 2024 }}
While attending Iowa State University, he was a star athlete in baseball and football, playing under coach Pop Warner.
Biography
Corrigan was born Walter Dickson Corrigan on December 28, 1875, in Almond, Wisconsin. He would attend Iowa State University, where he was a member of the baseball and football teams, and Drake University Law School.
Corrigan married twice. First, to Jessie Anna Donaldson, who died in 1925. Second, to Libby Miller, who died in 1976. He had six children. Corrigan died on November 25, 1951, in Mequon, Wisconsin.{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/cornellus-corry.html#928.79.37|title=Corrigan, Walter Dickson Sr.|publisher=Political Graveyard|accessdate=2013-06-22}}
Political career
Corrigan was district attorney of Waushara County, Wisconsin, from 1899 to 1901 and Assistant Attorney General of Wisconsin from 1903 to 1905 as a Republican. In 1934 and 1940, Corrigan was a candidate for the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 6th congressional district as a member of the Wisconsin Progressive Party. He lost to incumbent Michael Reilly in 1934 and to incumbent Frank Bateman Keefe in 1940. Additionally, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Electoral history
{{Election box begin | title=Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1916{{cite report|url= http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1917| title= The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1917|year= 1917 |publisher= State of Wisconsin |chapter= Election statistics |page= 300 |accessdate= December 27, 2019 }}}}
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, April 1916
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
|party =Nonpartisan politician
|candidate = Franz C. Eschweiler
|votes = 70,380
|percentage = 23.40%
|change =
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link||party=Nonpartisan politician|candidate=William J. Turner|votes=64,568|percentage=21.46%|change=}}
{{Election box candidate with party link||party=Nonpartisan politician|candidate=Ellsworth B. Belden|votes=57,670|percentage=19.17%|change=}}
{{Election box candidate with party link||party=Nonpartisan politician|candidate=Walter D. Corrigan|votes=56,666|percentage=18.84%|change=}}
{{Election box candidate with party link||party=Nonpartisan politician|candidate=Chester A. Fowler|votes=51,033|percentage=16.97%|change=}}
{{Election box candidate with party link||party=|candidate=Scattering|votes=489|percentage=0.16%|change=}}
{{Election box total
|votes = 300,806
|percentage = 100.0%
|change =
}}
{{Election box end}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before = Edward F. Kileen }}
{{s-ttl|title = District Attorney of Waushara County, Wisconsin |years= January 1, 1899{{spnd}}January 1, 1901 }}
{{s-aft|after = Edward F. Kileen }}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corrigan, Walter D. Sr.}}
Category:People from Portage County, Wisconsin
Category:People from Waushara County, Wisconsin
Category:Wisconsin Republicans
Category:Wisconsin Progressives (1924)
Category:District attorneys in Wisconsin
Category:Iowa State Cyclones baseball players
Category:Iowa State Cyclones football players
Category:Baseball players from Wisconsin
Category:Players of American football from Wisconsin
Category:Drake University Law School alumni