Michael Reilly (Wisconsin politician)
American politician from Wisconsin (1869-1944)
Michael Kieran Reilly (July 15, 1869 – October 14, 1944) was an Irish American lawyer and Democratic politician from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He served six full terms and one partial term in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 6th congressional district from 1913 to 1917, and from December 1930 to January 1939. Earlier in his career, he served as district attorney of Fond du Lac County and city attorney of Fond du Lac.
Early life
Michael K. Reilly was born in the town of Empire, Wisconsin, in Fond du Lac County, to Michael Reilly and Margaret Phelan, on July 15, 1869. After completing his primary education, he graduated from the Oshkosh Normal School (now University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh). He taught school for several seasons before continuing his University of Wisconsin–Madison. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science in 1894, and then graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1895.
After graduating from law school, he worked for a year at the Milwaukee law office of former district attorney John M. Clarke. After a year, he returned to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and partnered with George E. Williams in a firm known as Williams & Reilly. Soon after, Reilly's younger brother, James P. Reilly, joined the firm as Reilly, Williams & Reilly, with offices in Fond du Lac.
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