List of superintendents of public instruction of Wisconsin
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This is a list of people who have held the position of Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin. Partisan affiliation is indicated by shading for superintendents elected prior to 1902, when partisan elections for this office were ended. Since 1902, state superintendents have been elected on a nonpartisan basis with no affiliation on the ballot; thus, a state superintendent is not allowed to affiliate with a political party during his or her time in office. However, an individual elected or appointed to the office of state superintendent may be a member of a political party before and after their time in office. For example, Herbert J. Grover and Charles P. Cary both held prior partisan legislative or county office whereas Tony Evers ran for and won a partisan governor's race.
| # | Superintendent | Party | Entered office |
Left office |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eleazer Root | Independent[1] | January 1, 1849[2] | January 5, 1852 | |
| 2 | Azel P. Ladd | Democratic[3] | January 5, 1852[2] | January 2, 1854 | |
| 3 | Hiram A. Wright | Democratic[4] | January 2, 1854[2] | May 29, 1855[2] | Died in office.[5] |
| --Vacant-- | May 29, 1855 | June 26, 1855 | |||
| 4 | Alfred Constantine Barry | Democratic[5] | June 26, 1855[2] | January 4, 1858 | Appointed by Governor William A. Barstow.[5] |
| 5 | Lyman Draper | Democratic[6][a] | January 4, 1858[2] | January 2, 1860 | |
| 6 | Josiah Little Pickard | Republican[8] | January 2, 1860[2] | September 30, 1864[2] | Resigned.[9] |
| --Vacant-- | September 30, 1864 | October 1, 1864 | |||
| 7 | John G. McMynn | National Union[10] | October 1, 1864[2] | January 6, 1868 | Appointed by Governor James T. Lewis, then elected in 1864 & 1865. |
| 8 | Alexander J. Craig | Republican[11] | January 6, 1868[2] | July 6, 1870[2] | Died in office. |
| 9 | Samuel Fallows | ? | July 6, 1870[2] | January 4, 1874 | Appointed by Governor Lucius Fairchild, then elected in 1871. |
| 10 | Edward Searing | Liberal Republican[12] | January 4, 1874[2] | January 7, 1878 | |
| 11 | William Clarke Whitford | Republican[13] | January 7, 1878[2] | January 2, 1882 | |
| 12 | Robert Graham | Republican[14] | January 2, 1882[2] | January 3, 1887 | |
| 13 | Jesse B. Thayer | Republican[15] | January 3, 1887[2] | January 5, 1891 | |
| 14 | Oliver Elwin Wells | Democratic[16] | January 5, 1891[2] | January 7, 1895 | |
| 15 | John Q. Emery | Republican[17] | January 7, 1895[2] | January 2, 1899 | |
| 16 | Lorenzo D. Harvey | Republican[18] | January 2, 1899[2] | January 5, 1903 | |
| 17 | Charles P. Cary | None[b] | January 5, 1903[2] | July 1, 1921 | |
| 18 | John Callahan | None[19] | July 1, 1921[2] | July 1, 1949 | |
| 19 | George Earl Watson | None[19] | July 1, 1949[c] | July 1, 1961 | |
| 20 | Angus B. Rothwell | None[19] | July 1, 1961 | July 1, 1966[19] | Resigned. |
| 21 | William C. Kahl | None[19] | July 1, 1966[19] | July 2, 1973 | Appointed by Governor Warren P. Knowles, then elected in 1969. |
| 22 | Barbara Thompson | None[19] | July 2, 1973 | July 6, 1981 | |
| 23 | Herbert J. Grover | None[d][19] | July 6, 1981 | April 9, 1993[19] | Resigned. |
| - | Lee S. Dreyfus | Republican | April 9, 1993 | July 7, 1993 | Appointed by Governor Tommy Thompson to oversee the Department of Public Instruction. |
| 24 | John T. Benson | None[19] | July 7, 1993 | July 2, 2001 | |
| 25 | Elizabeth Burmaster | None[19] | July 2, 2001 | July 6, 2009 | |
| 26 | Tony Evers | None[e][19] | July 6, 2009 | January 7, 2019 | Resigned after election as governor of Wisconsin. |
| 27 | Carolyn Stanford Taylor | None[19] | January 7, 2019 | July 5, 2021 | Appointed by Governor Tony Evers. |
| 28 | Jill Underly | None[19] | July 5, 2021 | --Current-- | |
| Party | Superintendents |
|---|---|
| None | 9 |
| Republican | 6 |
| Democratic | 5 |
| Unknown Party | 3 |
| Liberal Republican | 1 |
| National Union | 1 |
| Independent | 1 |
Notes
- Draper also appeared on the Reform Democratic ticket.[7]
- Previously a Republican county superintendent of schools.
- Technically Watson delayed beginning his first term for about a week due to an issue with pending legislation, but he was appointed by the governor to take office in an acting capacity on the regular schedule.
- Previously a Democratic state legislator
- He subsequently was elected governor running as a Democrat.