Horace W. Wilkie

The Honorable Horace W. Wilkie
21st Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
In office September 11, 1974 – May 23, 1976
Preceded by	E. Harold Hallows
Succeeded by	Bruce F. Beilfuss
Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
In office June 5, 1962 – May 23, 1976
Appointed by	Gaylord Nelson
Preceded by	Grover L. Broadfoot
Succeeded by	Shirley Abrahamson
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 26th district
In office January 7, 1957 – June 5, 1962
Preceded by	Gaylord Nelson
Succeeded by	Fred A. Risser
Personal details
Born	(1917-01-09)January 9, 1917 Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	May 23, 1976(1976-05-23) (aged 59) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Cause of death	Heart attack
Resting place	Roselawn Memorial Park, Monona, Wisconsin
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Marian Cora Beardsley (died 1998)
Children	5 daughters
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–Madison George Washington University
Profession	lawyer, judge
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Coast Guard

Horace White Wilkie (January 9, 1917 – May 23, 1976) was an American attorney, judge, and Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. He was the 21st Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (1974–1976) and served a total of 14 years on the court (1962–1976). Before being appointed to the Court, he served five years in the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Madison, Wisconsin.

Biography

Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Wilkie graduated from what is now the University of Wisconsin–Madison and received his law degree from George Washington University. During World War II, Wilkie served in the United States Coast Guard. After the war, he helped revive the Democratic Party of Wisconsin with other young liberals and former members of the Wisconsin Progressive Party in what was known as the Democratic Organizing Committee. He ran for Congress three times in 1948, 1950, and 1952. In 1956, Wilkie was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate. In 1962, he was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court and in 1974, became chief justice of the court, serving until his death. Wilkie died of a heart attack in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1976.

An odd coincidence of Justice Wilkie's career is that his successors in the Wisconsin State Senate and Wisconsin Supreme Court both became the longest-serving members of those respective bodies. Fred A. Risser, who succeeded him in the Senate, served from 1962 through 2021. Shirley Abrahamson, who succeeded him on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, served from 1976 through 2019. She died on December 19, 2020 in Berkeley, California.