{{Short description|20th century American judge}} {{infobox officeholder |name = John D. Wickham |image = John D. Wickhem (8254108124) (1).jpg |caption = ca. 1940 |office = Justice of the [[Wisconsin Supreme Court]] |term_start = September 25, 1930 |term_end = June 18, 1949 (died) |appointer = [[Walter J. Kohler Sr.]] |predecessor = [[Charles H. Crownhart]] |successor = [[Timothy Brown (judge)|Timothy Brown]] |birth_date = {{birth date|1888|5|25}} |birth_place = [[Beloit, Wisconsin]], U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|1949|6|19|1888|5|25}} |death_place = [[Madison, Wisconsin]], U.S. |resting_place = Calvary Cemetery, Beloit |spouse = Mary Luella Carroll |children = 1 |education = [[Beloit College]] <br />[[University of Wisconsin Law School]] |profession = Lawyer }} '''John Dunne Wickhem''' (May 25, 1888{{spnd}}June 19, 1949) was an American lawyer and jurist from [[Beloit, Wisconsin]]. He was a justice of the [[Wisconsin Supreme Court]] from 1930 until his death in 1949. Prior to joining the court, he worked as a professor at the [[University of Wisconsin Law School]].
==Biography== John D. Wickhem was born in [[Beloit, Wisconsin]], in May 1888. He was raised and educated in Beloit, and went on to earn his bachelor's degree from [[Beloit College]] in 1910. After graduating, he taught school in Beloit for four years until entering the [[University of Wisconsin Law School]]. He graduated after just two years, speeding up his progression with summer courses.<ref name="wicourts">{{cite web|url= https://www.wicourts.gov/courts/supreme/justices/retired/wickhem.htm |title= Former Justices - John D. Wickhem |website= Wisconsin Court System |accessdate= August 17, 2023 }}</ref> After law school, he went to work in the law office of [[Burr W. Jones]] until 1917, when he moved to Milwaukee.<ref name="wicourts"/>
But he soon left for [[Washington, D.C.]], where he worked for the War Trade Intelligence Bureau through the end of [[World War I]]. Returning to Wisconsin in 1919, he was hired as an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. He was subsequently promoted to full professor in 1925.<ref name="wicourts"/>
In 1930, he was appointed to the [[Wisconsin Supreme Court]] by Governor [[Walter J. Kohler Sr.]], to fill the vacancy caused by the death of [[Charles H. Crownhart]]. Although Kohler was a Republican, Wickhem at the time was described as a Democrat.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-wickhem-justice/130204011/ |title= J. Wickhem to Succeed Crownhart |newspaper= [[The Capital Times]] |date= September 25, 1930 |page= 1 |accessdate= August 17, 2023 |via= [[Newspapers.com]] }}</ref> He was subsequently elected to a full ten-year term [[1933 Wisconsin Supreme Court election|in 1933]] and was re-elected [[1943 Wisconsin Supreme Court election|in 1943]].<ref name="wicourts"/>
His most historically noteworthy opinion on the court was likely ''State ex rel Martin v. Heil'', in which he wrote for a unanimous court that the lieutenant governor-elect would become the next governor following the death of the governor-elect.<ref name="wicourts"/>
On June 18, 1949, he complained of a slight illness after returning from a trip to [[Evanston, Illinois]], and was taken to a hospital in Madison. He died the next day.<ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-wickhem-dead/130204124/ |title= Justice John Wickhem Dies at 61 |newspaper= [[Wisconsin State Journal]] |date= June 20, 1949 |page= 1 |accessdate= August 17, 2023 |via= [[Newspapers.com]] }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before = [[Charles H. Crownhart]] }} {{s-ttl|title = Justice of the [[Wisconsin Supreme Court]] |years= September 25, 1930{{spnd}}June 18, 1949 (died) }} {{s-aft|after = [[Timothy Brown (judge)|Timothy Brown]] }} {{s-end}} {{Wisconsin Supreme Court justices navbox|state=collapsed}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wickhme, John D.}} [[Category:1888 births]] [[Category:1949 deaths]] [[Category:Politicians from Beloit, Wisconsin]] [[Category:Justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court]] [[Category:Wisconsin lawyers]] [[Category:Beloit College alumni]] [[Category:University of Wisconsin Law School alumni]] [[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty]] [[Category:20th-century Wisconsin state court judges]] [[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]