Robert L. D. Potter

Robert Lewis Dorr Potter (February 5, 1833 – November 2, 1893) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served four years as a member of the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Waushara County and central Wisconsin. He is the namesake of the "Potter Law"—a railroad reform law from 1874 which established state regulation of Wisconsin railroads.

Early life and education Potter was born February 5, 1833, in Hillsdale, New York. At the age of nine, his family moved to Egremont, Massachusetts, where he received most of his primary education. He moved to Easton, Pennsylvania, at about age 20 to work as a tutor in the high school. About two years later, he resigned to attend Union Law School and read law in the offices of Andrew Horatio Reeder. He graduated in 1857 and moved to Wisconsin later that year, settling at Wautoma, in Waushara County.

In 1872, Potter was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Wisconsin's 25th State Senate district—then comprising Marquette, Green Lake, and Waushara counties.

Railroad companies bitterly resisted the regulation.

Personal life and family Robert L. D. Potter married Emeline Bingham at Wautoma on February 5, 1861.

Electoral history Wisconsin Senate (1872, 1874)