Henry Huber

Henry A. Huber
Henry A. Huber
25th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
	In office; January 5, 1925 – January 2, 1933
Governor	John J. Blaine; Fred R. Zimmerman; Walter J. Kohler Sr.; Philip La Follette;
Preceded by	George Comings
Succeeded by	Thomas J. O'Malley
Member of the Wisconsin Senate; from the 26th district
	In office; January 6, 1913 – January 5, 1925
Preceded by	John S. Donald
Succeeded by	Harry Sauthoff
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly; from the Dane 2nd district
	In office; January 2, 1905 – January 7, 1907
Preceded by	Torger G. Thompson
Succeeded by	Ole P. Sorenson
Personal details
Born	November 6, 1869; Evergreen, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	January 31, 1933 (aged 63); Madison General Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Riverside Cemetery, Stoughton, Wisconsin
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Minnie P. Pratt (died 1934)
Education	Albion Academy; University of Wisconsin Law School
Profession	Lawyer

Henry Allen Huber (November 6, 1869 – January 31, 1933) was an American lawyer and progressive Republican politician from Stoughton, Wisconsin. He was the 25th lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, serving from 1925 through 1933. He also served 12 years in the Wisconsin Senate and two years in the Wisconsin State Assembly representing Dane County. Earlier in his career, he also served as an executive clerk to Wisconsin governor Robert M. La Follette. He is known for introducing the first form of state unemployment insurance legislation in the United States, and is the namesake of the "Huber Law" which created Wisconsin's first work release program for state prisoners.

Biography

Huber was born in Evergreen, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in 1869. At age ten, he moved with his parents to Pleasant Springs, Wisconsin.^[1] He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1892 and set up a law practice in Stoughton. He was city attorney for Stoughton, Wisconsin, and served on the Dane County Board of Supervisors. He served as a Republican in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1905 until 1906, and in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1913 until 1924.

During his time as a state senator, he gained national recognition for two landmark pieces of legislation. He introduced the first unemployment insurance legislation in American history,^[2] and was the author of Wisconsin's first work release program—still referred to in Wisconsin as the "Huber Law".

In 1924, incumbent Lieutenant Governor George Comings announced he would run for Governor. Huber thus decided that rather than running for a fourth term in the State Senate, he would seek the office of Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin in 1924.^[3] Huber ultimately faced no opposition in the Republican primary, and went on to win the general election with 60% of the vote.^[4] He went on to win re-election in 1926, 1928, and 1930, facing competitive primaries and general elections each time. During his four terms as lieutenant governor, he served alongside four different governors.^[1]^[2]

He ran for a fifth term in 1932, but was defeated in the Republican primary by conservative Republican Harry Dahl,^[5] who went on to lose the general election to Democrat Thomas J. O'Malley.

Death

Huber died less than a month after leaving office, in January 1933. He was admitted to Madison General Hospital on January 30, suffering from a chronic heart condition, and died the next day.^[6]^[7]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1904)

Wisconsin Assembly, Dane 2nd District Election, 1904^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 8, 1904
	Republican	Henry Huber	3,413	62.76%	+26.26%
	Democratic	Peter N. Johnson	1,740	32.00%	−31.46%
	Prohibition	Robert S. Pearsall	173	3.18%
		Scattering	112	2.06%
Plurality			1,673	30.76%	+3.81%
Total votes			5,438	100.0%	+29.72%
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing	57.72%

Wisconsin Senate (1912, 1916, 1920)

Year	Election	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
1912^[9]	General	Nov. 5	Henry Huber	Republican	8,140	52.86%	J. G. O. Zehnter	Dem.	6,918	44.92%	15,400	1,222
1912^[9]	General	Nov. 5	Henry Huber	Republican	8,140	52.86%	William M. McCarthy	Proh.	338	2.19%	15,400	1,222
1916^[10]	General	Nov. 7	Henry Huber (inc)	Republican	9,554	61.32%	John C. Kenny	Dem.	6,023	38.66%	15,580	3,531
1920^[11]	General	Nov. 2	Henry Huber (inc)	Republican	31,345	99.94%					31,363	31,327

Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor (1924, 1926, 1928, 1930)

Year	Election	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
1924^[4]	General	Nov. 4	Henry Huber	Republican	433,106	60.27%	Karl Mathie	Dem.	215,327	29.96%	718,669	217,779
							Peter Gilles	Soc.	46,660	6.49%
							Maria I. A. Nelson	Proh.	11,170	1.55%
							John E. Ferris	Ind.R.	8,301	1.16%
							Steve Fisher	Soc.Lab.	2,025	0.28%
							Charles Kuzdas	Work.	1,978	0.28%
1926^[12]	Primary	Sep. 7	Henry Huber (inc)	Republican	200,514	49.73%	J. N. Tittemore	Rep.	106,807	26.49%	403,206	93,707
	Primary	Sep. 7	Henry Huber (inc)	Republican	200,514	49.73%	Conrad Hansen	Rep.	95,885	23.78%	403,206	93,707
	General	Nov. 2	Henry Huber (inc)	Republican	395,235	78.92%	William G. Evenson	Dem.	61,865	12.35%	500,831	333,370
							Peter Gilles	Soc.	34,283	6.85%
							Henry H. Tubbs	Proh.	9,448	1.89%
1928^[13]	Primary	Sep. 4	Henry Huber (inc)	Republican	261,913	60.52%	Chester Werden	Rep.	101,472	23.45%	432,795	160,441
	Primary	Sep. 4	Henry Huber (inc)	Republican	261,913	60.52%	Harold L. Plummer	Rep.	69,410	16.04%	432,795	160,441
	General	Nov. 6	Henry Huber (inc)	Republican	582,456	64.48%	Leo P. Fox	Dem.	277,497	30.72%	903,254	304,959
							S. S. Walkup	Soc.	34,162	3.78%
							Oliver Needham	Proh.	6,621	0.73%
							Henry Koski	Work.	1,314	0.15%
							Emil Wagner	Ind.Lab.	1,204	0.13%
1930^[14]	Primary	Sep. 16	Henry Huber (inc)	Republican	318,225	54.87%	Harry Dahl	Rep.	261,722	45.13%	579,947	56,503
	General	Nov. 4	Henry Huber (inc)	Republican	370,075	66.04%	Bert Husting	Dem.	141,632	25.27%	560,373	228,443
							John R. Severin	Soc.	32,107	5.73%
							Otto D. Kahl	Proh.	13,404	2.39%
							William Clark	Comm.	3,155	0.56%
1932^[5]	Primary	Sep. 20	Harry Dahl	Republican	379,060	56.74%	Henry Huber (inc)	Rep.	288,971	43.26%	668,031	90,089

References

^ ^a ^b "Henry A. Huber Dies of Heart Ailment: Funeral Rites to Be Held Here Friday (continued)". Wisconsin State Journal. February 1, 1933. p. 5. Retrieved August 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Huber, Henry Allen 1869 - 1933". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
^ "Senator Huber will be a Candidate for Lieutenant Governor". Oshkosh Northwestern. April 9, 1924. p. 12. Retrieved April 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Holmes, Fred L., ed. (1925). "Election Statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1925 (Report). Wisconsin State Printing Board. pp. –565. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Witte, Edwin E.; Kelly, Alice, eds. (1933). "Parties and Election". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1933 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 516. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
^ "Henry A. Huber Dies of Heart Ailment: Funeral Rites to Be Held Here Friday". Wisconsin State Journal. February 1, 1933. p. 1. Retrieved August 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Biodata
^ Erickson, Halford; Beck, J. D., eds. (1905). "Election Statistics". The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin 1905 (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 462. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
^ "Election Statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1913 (Report). Industrial Commission of Wisconsin. 1913. p. 277. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
^ "Election Statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1917 (Report). Industrial Commission of Wisconsin. 1917. p. 293. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
^ "Election Statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1921 (Report). Wisconsin State Printing Board. 1921. p. 229. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
^ Holmes, Fred L., ed. (1927). "Election Statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1927 (Report). Wisconsin State Printing Board. pp. 495, 574. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
^ Anderson, William J.; Anderson, William A., eds. (1929). "Election Statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1929 (Report). Wisconsin State Printing Board. pp. 737, 818. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
^ Witte, Edwin E.; Kelly, Alice, eds. (1931). "Parties and Election". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1931 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp. 464, 468. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

Sources

"Wisconsin Constitutional Officers; Lieutenant Governors" (PDF). State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2005–2006. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. July 2005. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 25, 2007. Retrieved October 8, 2007.

Party political offices
Preceded by George Comings	Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin 1924, 1926, 1928, 1930	Succeeded by Harry Dahl
Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Torger G. Thompson	Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Dane 2nd district January 2, 1905 – January 7, 1907	Succeeded by Ole P. Sorenson
Wisconsin Senate
Preceded by John S. Donald	Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 26th district January 6, 1913 – January 5, 1925	Succeeded by Harry Sauthoff
Political offices
Preceded by George Comings	Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin January 5, 1925 – January 2, 1933	Succeeded by Thomas J. O'Malley

[Obit_ctd-1] "Henry A. Huber Dies of Heart Ailment: Funeral Rites to Be Held Here Friday (continued)". Wisconsin State Journal. February 1, 1933. p. 5. Retrieved August 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.

[wihist-2] "Huber, Henry Allen 1869 - 1933". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

[3] "Senator Huber will be a Candidate for Lieutenant Governor". Oshkosh Northwestern. April 9, 1924. p. 12. Retrieved April 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[1925elex-4] Holmes, Fred L., ed. (1925). "Election Statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1925 (Report). Wisconsin State Printing Board. pp. –565. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

[1933elex-5] Witte, Edwin E.; Kelly, Alice, eds. (1933). "Parties and Election". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1933 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 516. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

[Obit-6] "Henry A. Huber Dies of Heart Ailment: Funeral Rites to Be Held Here Friday". Wisconsin State Journal. February 1, 1933. p. 1. Retrieved August 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] Biodata

[1905elex-8] Erickson, Halford; Beck, J. D., eds. (1905). "Election Statistics". The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin 1905 (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 462. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

[9] "Election Statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1913 (Report). Industrial Commission of Wisconsin. 1913. p. 277. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

[10] "Election Statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1917 (Report). Industrial Commission of Wisconsin. 1917. p. 293. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

[11] "Election Statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1921 (Report). Wisconsin State Printing Board. 1921. p. 229. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

[12] Holmes, Fred L., ed. (1927). "Election Statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1927 (Report). Wisconsin State Printing Board. pp. 495, 574. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

[13] Anderson, William J.; Anderson, William A., eds. (1929). "Election Statistics". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1929 (Report). Wisconsin State Printing Board. pp. 737, 818. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

[14] Witte, Edwin E.; Kelly, Alice, eds. (1931). "Parties and Election". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1931 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp. 464, 468. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

[1]