| Party | Superintendents |
|---|---|
| None | 9 |
| Republican | 6 |
| Democratic | 5 |
| Unknown Party | 3 |
| Liberal Republican | 1 |
| National Union | 1 |
| Independent | 1 |
This is a list of people who have held the position ofSuperintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin.Partisan affiliation is indicated by shading for superintendents elected prior to 1902, when partisan elections for this office were ended. Since 1902, state superintendents have been elected on a nonpartisan basis with no affiliation on the ballot; thus, a state superintendent is not allowed to affiliate with a political party during his or her time in office. However, an individual elected or appointed to the office of state superintendent may be a member of a political party before and after their time in office. For example,Herbert J. Grover andCharles P. Cary both held prior partisan legislative or county office whereasTony Evers ran for and won apartisan governor's race.
| # | Superintendent | Party | Entered office | Left office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eleazer Root | Independent[1] | January 1, 1849[2] | January 5, 1852 | |
| 2 | Azel P. Ladd | Democratic[3] | January 5, 1852[2] | January 2, 1854 | |
| 3 | Hiram A. Wright | Democratic[4] | January 2, 1854[2] | May 29, 1855[2] | Died in office.[5] |
| --Vacant-- | May 29, 1855 | June 26, 1855 | |||
| 4 | Alfred Constantine Barry | Democratic[5] | June 26, 1855[2] | January 4, 1858 | Appointed by GovernorWilliam A. Barstow.[5] |
| 5 | Lyman Draper | Democratic[6][a] | January 4, 1858[2] | January 2, 1860 | |
| 6 | Josiah Little Pickard | Republican[8] | January 2, 1860[2] | September 30, 1864[2] | Resigned.[9] |
| --Vacant-- | September 30, 1864 | October 1, 1864 | |||
| 7 | John G. McMynn | National Union[10] | October 1, 1864[2] | January 6, 1868 | Appointed by GovernorJames T. Lewis, then elected in 1865. |
| 8 | Alexander J. Craig | ? | January 6, 1868[2] | July 6, 1870[2] | Died in office. |
| 9 | Samuel Fallows | ? | July 6, 1870[2] | January 4, 1874 | Appointed by GovernorLucius Fairchild, then elected in 1871. |
| 10 | Edward Searing | Liberal Republican[11] | January 4, 1874[2] | January 7, 1878 | |
| 11 | William Clarke Whitford | Republican[12] | January 7, 1878[2] | January 2, 1882 | |
| 12 | Robert Graham | Republican[13] | January 2, 1882[2] | January 3, 1887 | |
| 13 | Jesse B. Thayer | Republican[14] | January 3, 1887[2] | January 5, 1891 | |
| 14 | Oliver Elwin Wells | Democratic[15] | January 5, 1891[2] | January 7, 1895 | |
| 15 | John Q. Emery | Republican[16] | January 7, 1895[2] | January 2, 1899 | |
| 16 | Lorenzo D. Harvey | Republican[17] | January 2, 1899[2] | January 5, 1903 | |
| 17 | Charles P. Cary | None[b] | January 5, 1903[2] | July 1, 1921 | |
| 18 | John Callahan | None[18] | July 1, 1921[2] | July 1, 1949 | |
| 19 | George Earl Watson | None[18] | July 1, 1949[c] | July 1, 1961 | |
| 20 | Angus B. Rothwell | None[18] | July 1, 1961 | July 1, 1966[18] | Resigned. |
| 21 | William C. Kahl | None[18] | July 1, 1966[18] | July 2, 1973 | Appointed by GovernorWarren P. Knowles, then elected in 1969. |
| 22 | Barbara Thompson | None[18] | July 2, 1973 | July 6, 1981 | |
| 23 | Herbert J. Grover | None[d][18] | July 6, 1981 | April 9, 1993[18] | Resigned. |
| - | Lee S. Dreyfus | Republican | April 9, 1993 | July 7, 1993 | Appointed by GovernorTommy Thompson to oversee the Department of Public Instruction. |
| 24 | John T. Benson | None[18] | July 7, 1993 | July 2, 2001 | |
| 25 | Elizabeth Burmaster | None[18] | July 2, 2001 | July 6, 2009 | |
| 26 | Tony Evers | None[e][18] | July 6, 2009 | January 7, 2019 | Resigned after election asgovernor of Wisconsin. |
| 27 | Carolyn Stanford Taylor | None[18] | January 7, 2019 | July 5, 2021 | Appointed by GovernorTony Evers. |
| 28 | Jill Underly | None[18] | July 5, 2021 | --Current-- | |