List of United States attorneys for Wisconsin

The office of United States Attorney for the Wisconsin Territory came into being when the Wisconsin Territory was created from the remnants of the Michigan Territory. When Wisconsin became the 30th state in 1848, the United States Attorney for the District of Wisconsin was established. In 1870, the state was split into two jurisdictions, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and the United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin.^[1]

Wisconsin Territory

U.S. Attorney	Years	Notes	President(s)
William W. Chapman	1836 – 1838		Andrew Jackson
William W. Chapman	1836 – 1838		Martin Van Buren
Moses M. Strong	1838 – 1841		Martin Van Buren
Thomas W. Sutherland	1841 – 1845		John Tyler
William Pitt Lynde	1845 – 1848	Elected to U.S. House	James K. Polk

District of Wisconsin

U.S. Attorney	Years	Notes	President(s)
Thomas W. Sutherland	1848		James K. Polk
A. Hyatt Smith	1848 – 1849		James K. Polk
George W. Lakin	1850 – 1853		Zachary Taylor
George W. Lakin	1850 – 1853		Millard Fillmore
John R. Sharpstein	1853 – 1857	Later Justice of the Supreme Court of California	Franklin Pierce
Don A. J. Upham	1857 – 1861		James Buchanan
John B. D. Cogswell	1861 – 1866		Abraham Lincoln
John B. D. Cogswell	1861 – 1866		Andrew Johnson

Eastern and Western District

U.S. Attorney, Western Dist.	Years	Notes	President(s)	U.S. Attorney, Eastern Dist.	Years	Notes
Charles M. Webb	1870 – 1878		Ulysses S. Grant	Levi Hubbell	1870 – 1875
			Ulysses S. Grant	Gerry Whiting Hazelton	1876 – 1885
			Rutherford B. Hayes
H. M. Lewis	1878 – 1886		Rutherford B. Hayes
			James A. Garfield
			Chester A. Arthur
			Grover Cleveland	Arthur K. Delaney	1885 – 1887
Allen R. Bushnell	1886 – 1890			Arthur K. Delaney	1885 – 1887
				William A. Walker	1887 – 1890
			Benjamin Harrison	William A. Walker	1887 – 1890
Samuel A. Harper	1890 – 1894		Benjamin Harrison	Elihu Colman	1890 – 1893
Samuel A. Harper	1890 – 1894		Grover Cleveland	John H. M. Wigman	1893 – 1897
Harry E. Briggs	1894 – 1898		Grover Cleveland	John H. M. Wigman	1893 – 1897
Harry E. Briggs	1894 – 1898		William McKinley	Milton E. Phillips	1897 – 1901
David F. Jones	1898 – 1901		William McKinley	Milton E. Phillips	1897 – 1901
William G. Wheeler	1901 – 1909		Theodore Roosevelt	H. K. Butterfield	1901 – 1910
George H. Gordon	1909 – 1913		William Howard Taft	H. K. Butterfield	1901 – 1910
				E. A. Henning	1910 – 1911
				Guy D. Goff	1911 – 1915	Later U.S. Senator
John A. Aylward	1913 – 1916		Woodrow Wilson	Guy D. Goff	1911 – 1915	Later U.S. Senator
John A. Aylward	1913 – 1916			H. A. Sawyer	1915 – 1923
Arthur Mulberger	1916
William F. Wolfe	1916 – 1917
Albert C. Wolfe	1917 – 1921
William H. Dougherty	1921 – 1927		Warren G. Harding
			Warren G. Harding	Edward W. Miller	1923
			Calvin Coolidge	William O. Meilahm	1923
				Roy L. Morse	1923 – 1927
Stanley M. Ryan	1927 – 1935	Grandfather of Paul Ryan		Levi H. Bancroft	1927 – 1932
			Herbert Hoover	Levi H. Bancroft	1927 – 1932
			Herbert Hoover	Edward J. Gehl	1932 – 1933
			Franklin D. Roosevelt	Bert Husting	1933 – 1944
John J. Boyle	1935 – 1944	Died in office		Bert Husting	1933 – 1944
Charles H. Cashin	1944 – 1951			Timothy T. Cronin	1944 – 1955
Charles H. Cashin	1944 – 1951		Harry S. Truman
Thomas E. Fairchild	1951 – 1952	Later Chief Judge of the U.S. 7th Circuit
Frank Nikolay	1952 – 1953
George E. Rapp	1953 – 1962		Dwight D. Eisenhower
			Dwight D. Eisenhower	Edward G. Minor	1955 – 1961
			John F. Kennedy	James B. Brennan	1961 – 1969
Nathan Heffernan	1962 – 1965	Later Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court	John F. Kennedy
Nathan Heffernan	1962 – 1965	Later Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court	Lyndon B. Johnson
Michael J. Wyngaard	1965 – 1969		Lyndon B. Johnson
Edmond A. Nix	1969		Richard Nixon	David J. Cannon	1969 – 1973
John O. Olson	1969 – 1974			David J. Cannon	1969 – 1973
John O. Olson	1969 – 1974			David B. Bukey	1973 – 1974
Steven C. Underwood	1974			David B. Bukey	1973 – 1974
David C. Mebane	1974 – 1977		Gerald Ford	William J. Mulligan	1974 – 1978
Frank M. Tuerkheimer	1977 – 1981		Jimmy Carter	William J. Mulligan	1974 – 1978
Frank M. Tuerkheimer	1977 – 1981		Jimmy Carter	Joan F. Kessler	1978 – 1981	First female U.S. Attorney for Wisconsin
John R. Byrnes	1981 – 1987		Ronald Reagan	Joseph Peter Stadtmueller	1981 – 1987
Patrick J. Fiedler	1987 – 1991	Resigned to become secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections		Patricia J. Gorence	1987 – 1988
				John E. Fryatt	1988 – 1993
			George H. W. Bush
Kevin C. Potter	1991 – 1993		George H. W. Bush
Peg Lautenschlager	1993 – 2001		Bill Clinton	Thomas Paul Schneider	1993 – 2001
J. B. Van Hollen	2001 – 2006		George W. Bush	Steven M. Biskupic	2001 – 2009
Erik C. Peterson	2006 – 2010		George W. Bush	Steven M. Biskupic	2001 – 2009
Erik C. Peterson	2006 – 2010		Barack Obama	James Santelle	2009 – 2015
John W. Vaudreuil	2010 – 2017			James Santelle	2009 – 2015
John W. Vaudreuil	2010 – 2017			Gregory Haanstad	2015 – 2017
Scott Blader	2017 – 2021		Donald Trump	Matthew Krueger	2017 – 2021
Timothy M. O'Shea	2021 – present	Acting	Joe Biden	Richard G. Frohling	2021 – 2022	Acting
Timothy M. O'Shea	2021 – present	Acting	Joe Biden	Gregory Haanstad	2022-present

References

^ Executive Office for United States Attorneys (1989). Bicentennial Celebration of United States Attorneys, 1789–1989 (PDF) (Report). Washington, District of Columbia: United States Department of Justice.

[1] Executive Office for United States Attorneys (1989). Bicentennial Celebration of United States Attorneys, 1789–1989 (PDF) (Report). Washington, District of Columbia: United States Department of Justice.

[1]