William Pitt Lynde was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 lawyer and politician from Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 who served in Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

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Lynde was born in Sherburne, New York

Sherburne, New York

Sherburne, New York is the name of two locations in Chenango County, New York:*Sherburne , New York*Sherburne , New York...

. He graduated from Yale College

Yale College

Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...

, in 1838, and Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...

, in 1841, and was admitted to the bar. He moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

, shortly thereafter. Lynde became attorney general

Attorney General

In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...

 of the Wisconsin territory in 1844 and United States Attorney

United States Attorney

United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...

 for Wisconsin in 1845. He also served as President of the board of trustees of the Village of Milwaukee.

When Wisconsin was admitted as a state in 1848, Lynde was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

, one of Wisconsin's first two representatives. He lost his reelection bid, however; his term lasted from June 5, 1848, to March 3, 1849. He was also unsuccessful in the 1849 election for associate justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court

Wisconsin Supreme Court

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in the state of Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin.-Location:...

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William Pitt Lynde served as mayor of Milwaukee in 1860. His Wisconsin political career also led him to the state legislature; he served in the Wisconsin State Assembly

Wisconsin State Assembly

The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin....

 in 1866 and the State Senate

Wisconsin State Senate

The Wisconsin Senate, the powers of which are modeled after those of the U.S. Senate, is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature, smaller than the Wisconsin State Assembly...

 in 1869 and 1870. He returned to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1875, where he served two full terms until 1879, when he retired from politics.

In 1842, he founded the law firm Finch & Lynde with partner Asahel Finch. Finch & Lynde survives today as Foley & Lardner

Foley & Lardner

Foley & Lardner LLP is an international law firm started in 1842. According to The American Lawyer, the firm ranked 39th on The American Lawyer's 2011 AmLaw 100 rankings of U.S. law firms, with $633,000,000 in gross revenue in 2010. Foley & Lardner has been in The American Lawyer's annual AmLaw 100...

, one of the oldest and largest law firms in the country.

Lynde died in 1885 in Milwaukee at age 68. He is buried at Milwaukee's Forest Home Cemetery

Forest Home Cemetery

Forest Home Cemetery located in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin is the final resting place of many of the city's famed beer barons, politicians and social elite...

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