{{short description|American politician}} thumb|right|Richard Elsner
'''Richard Elsner''' (May 29, 1859 – January 18, 1938) was an American attorney and judge from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who served one term as a Socialist member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.
== Background == Elsner was born May 29, 1859, in Silesia.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}} He attended public school, ''gymnasium'' and technical college in Germany. He came to Milwaukee in 1880 and became a leader of the Brewery Workers Union by 1886. Later he attended Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin Law School where he graduated in 1894, becoming a self-described "practicing lawyer by profession."
== Politics and public office == By 1898, he was the Socialist nominee for Attorney General of Wisconsin, coming in fifth in a six-way race.<ref>[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1899 Froehlich, Wm. H., ed. ''The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin'' Madison: 1899; p. 376]</ref> In 1900, he was again the nominee, placing fourth in a five-way race; by 1902, he had moved up to third in another five-way race,<ref>[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1903 Erickson, Halford, ed. ''The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin'' Madison: 1903; p. 602]</ref> repeating the performance in 1906.<ref>[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1907 Beck, J. D., ed. ''The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin'' Madison: Democrat Printing Co., State Printer, 1907; p. 1121]</ref>
He was a county judge of Milwaukee County from 1910 to 1916. In 1916 he was the Socialist nominee for the United States Senate, coming in third in a four-way race in which incumbent Republican Robert M. La Follette, Sr. was re-elected. In 1919 Elsner was elected register of deeds of Milwaukee County for the first of two terms. He was elected a member of the assembly in November, 1922 in a fierce contest (Victor Berger was reported to have said, "Mr. Leander Pierson belongs in the legislature of Pennsylvania, or New York, or Hell-- but not in Wisconsin!"),<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83526089/anti-socialist-editorial-8-2-22/ "Berger Leads The Way"], ''Eau Claire Leader'' August 2, 1922; p. 6, col. 2 via Newspapers.com</ref> receiving 1,679 votes to incumbent Republican Leander J. Pierson's 1663 votes. He was appointed to the standing committees on the judiciary and on insurance and banking.<ref>[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1923 ''The Wisconsin blue book, 1923'' Madison: 1923; pp. 580, 589, 631]</ref>
In 1924 he was not a candidate for re-election, and was succeeded by Republican Ernst F. Pahl.<ref> he died in 1938.[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1925 Holmes, Fred L., ed. ''The Wisconsin blue book, 1925'' Madison: Democrat Printing Company, State Printer, 1925; p. 672]</ref>
== After legislative service == His papers are in the Special Collections of the Golda Meir Library of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.<ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28696135_Richard_Elsner_Papers_1854-1967 Richard Elsner Papers, 1854-1967]</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Elsner, Richard}} Category:1859 births Category:1938 deaths Category:Brewery workers Category:Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Category:Lawyers from Milwaukee Category:Socialist Party of America politicians from Wisconsin Category:University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Category:Wisconsin lawyers Category:Wisconsin state court judges Category:Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States Category:20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature