Michael Frank

Michael Frank (December 12, 1804 – December 26, 1894) was a German American pioneer, newspaper editor, and politician. He was the first Mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and is regarded as the father of Wisconsin public schools.

Early life

Michael Frank was born in Virgil, New York, his father, John Frank, was an immigrant from the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, in modern day western Germany. He came to America for economic opportunity, but arrived in the midst of the American Revolutionary War and decided to join the rebel cause. At the end of the war he was granted an honorable discharge and received a grant of land. Through toil, he transformed the wild land into a farm where Michael was raised.

From an early age he developed an interest in reading and study. He consumed books and newspapers, and was eager to engage in conversation about public affairs. He became interested in social reform movements as a young man and was involved with the temperance and abolitionist movements while living in New York. At the time, abolitionism was seen as a fringe ideology and the few abolitionist papers in the country were denounced by the major parties and their publications. Nevertheless, Frank subscribed to the abolitionist paper the Emancipator, but his postmaster refused to deliver it until he pledged not to distribute it further.

Published works