{{short description|19th century American politician}} {{infobox officeholder | name = Benjamin F. Millard | order = 21st | title = Mayor of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin | term_start = April 1892 | term_end = April 1893 | predecessor = Jacob Leinenkugel | successor = W. H. Stafford | state1 = Wisconsin | state_assembly1 = Wisconsin | district1 = Chippewa | term_start1 = January 7, 1889 | term_end1 = January 5, 1891 | predecessor1 = Thomas J. Cunningham | successor1 = James Andrew Taylor | party = Republican | birth_date = {{birth date|1850|5|5}} | birth_place = Baraboo, Wisconsin, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1926|1|27|1850|5|5}} | death_place = Seattle, Washington, U.S. | resting_place = Cremated | spouse = {{unbulleted list | {{marriage|Eva Buzzell|||end=divorced}} | Ruth Butterfield | ''two earlier wives'' }} | children = | father = Franklin Millard | occupation = Lumberman, florist, {{nowrap|mine operator}} }} '''Benjamin Franklin Millard''' (May 5, 1850{{spaced ndash}}January 27, 1926) was an American businessman, politician, and pioneer of Alaska and Washington. He was the 21st mayor of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and represented Chippewa County in the Wisconsin State Assembly during the 1889 session.

==Biography== Benjamin F. Millard was born on May 5, 1850, in Baraboo, Wisconsin. As a child, he moved with his father to Minnesota, then to Menomonie, Wisconsin, in 1858, before finally settling at Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, in 1861. He came from an impoverished background and went to work in the logging camps around Chippewa Falls.<ref name="1889bio">{{cite report|url= http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1889 |title= The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin |year= 1889 |publisher= State of Wisconsin |editor-last= Timme |editor-first= Ernst G. |chapter-url= https://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/WIBlueBks/BlueBks/WIBlueBk1889/reference/wi.wibluebk1889.i0015.pdf |chapter= Biographical Sketches |page= 503 |accessdate= March 7, 2022 }}</ref>

He was able to become a majority owner of the Chippewa Falls Woolen and Linen Mills, and owned a number of greenhouses.<ref name="obit-leader">{{cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/12051670/leader-telegram/ |title= Benjamin F. Millard |newspaper= Eau Claire Leader-Telegram |date= February 10, 1926 |page= 4 |accessdate= March 7, 2022 }}</ref> He was active with the Republican Party of Wisconsin, and was elected to the Chippewa Falls city council and the Chippewa County board of supervisors. In 1888, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly and served in the 1889 session of the Legislature.<ref name="1889bio"/> He was defeated running for re-election 1890.<ref name="1891bio">{{cite report|url= http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1891 |title= The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin |year= 1891 |publisher= State of Wisconsin |editor-last= Cunningham |editor-first= Thomas J. |chapter-url= https://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/WIBlueBks/BlueBks/WIBlueBk1891/reference/wi.wibluebk1891.i0017.pdf |chapter= Biographical Sketches |pages= 587–588 |accessdate= March 7, 2022 }}</ref> In 1892, however, he was elected mayor of Chippewa Falls, and served a one-year term.

In 1898, he moved to the District of Alaska. There, he organized the Galena Bay Mining Company and purchased a stake in the Bonanza Copper Mine of Alaska. He also owned or part-owned several other mining companies, including the Cliff and Granite Gold Mines.<ref name="obit-leader"/>

Later in life, he relocated to Seattle, Washington, where he died in 1926.<ref name="obit-leader"/>

==Personal life and family== Millard married four times. He was survived by two children and his fourth wife.<ref name="obit-leader"/>

==Electoral history== ===Wisconsin Assembly (1888, 1890)=== {{Election box begin | title= Wisconsin Assembly, Chippewa District Election, 1888<ref name="1889bio"/>}} | colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| '''General Election, November 6, 1888''' {{Election box winning candidate with party link| |party = Republican Party (United States) |candidate = Benjamin F. Millard |votes = 2,662 |percentage = 48.81% |change = +10.23% }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Democratic Party (United States) |candidate = Robert Patten |votes = 2,538 |percentage = 46.53% |change = -7.78% }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Prohibition Party |candidate = John Bates |votes = 254 |percentage = 4.66% |change = -2.45% }} {{Election box plurality |votes = 124 |percentage = 2.27% |change =-13.46% }} {{Election box total |votes = 5,454 |percentage = 100.0% |change = +18.21% }} {{Election box gain with party link no swing | |winner = Republican Party (United States) |loser = Democratic Party (United States) }} {{Election box end}} {{Election box begin | title= Wisconsin Assembly, Chippewa District Election, 1890<ref name="1891bio"/>}} | colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| '''General Election, November 4, 1890''' {{Election box winning candidate with party link| |party = Democratic Party (United States) |candidate = James Andrew Taylor |votes = 1,562 |percentage = 47.96% |change = +1.42% }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Republican Party (United States) |candidate = Benjamin F. Millard (incumbent) |votes = 1,518 |percentage = 46.61% |change = -2.20% }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Prohibition Party |candidate = Joseph Burrington |votes = 177 |percentage = 5.43% |change = +0.78% }} {{Election box plurality |votes = 44 |percentage = 1.35% |change =-0.92% }} {{Election box total |votes = 3,257 |percentage = 100.0% |change = -40.28% }} {{Election box gain with party link no swing | |winner = Democratic Party (United States) |loser = Republican Party (United States) }} {{Election box end}}

==References== {{reflist}}

{{S-start}} {{s-par|us-wi-hs}} {{s-bef|before = Thomas J. Cunningham }} {{s-ttl|title = {{nowrap|Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly}} {{nowrap|from the Chippewa district}} |years= January 7, 1889{{spaced ndash}}January 5, 1891 }} {{s-aft|after = James Andrew Taylor }} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before = Jacob Leinenkugel }} {{s-ttl|title = {{nowrap|Mayor of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin}} |years= April 1892{{spaced ndash}}April 1893 }} {{s-aft|after = W. H. Stafford }} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Millard, Benjamin Franklin}} Category:1850 births Category:1926 deaths Category:Politicians from Baraboo, Wisconsin Category:Politicians from Sauk County, Wisconsin Category:Politicians from Valdez, Alaska Category:Politicians from Seattle Category:Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Category:Mayors of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin Category:19th-century mayors of places in Wisconsin Category:19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature