Daniel Darius Hooker (December 22, 1831 – April 26, 1894) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

molder and

tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...

manufacturer from

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

who served two terms as a member of the

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. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

. He was elected as a " Democratic Trades Assembly" candidate in 1882 (the

Milwaukee Trades Assembly Milwaukee is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the 31st-most populous city in the United States and the fifth-most populous city in the Midwest with a population of 57 ...

, a

labor federation Organizers within trade unions have sought to increase the bargaining power of workers in regards to collective bargaining by acting in collaboration with other trade unions. Multi-union organizing can take place on an informal basis, or on a ...

which was also an antecedent to that state's

Union Labor Party The Union Labor Party or United Labor Party (ULP) was a labor party created in 1884 by labor activists in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was moderately successful, and key organizers within the party helped create the People's Party, into which the ULP ...

, ran its own direct candidates against Democrats in other districts); and re-elected in 1884.

Background

Hooker was born in Perryburg,

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, on December 22, 1831, and received a public school education. He came to Wisconsin in 1854 and lived in Fond du Lac until moving in 1868 to Milwaukee. He worked as a molder, and while working at one of Edward P. Allis' plants lost his leg, when a ladle of molten iron was toppled. His wife, Mary Ann Peacock, died in 1872 of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

; they had three children, Harry C., William Francis (who became a writer) and Jennie M. As of 1883 he was a manufacturer of tools.

Assembly

Hooker had never been a candidate for office before being elected in 1882 from the 5th

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, containing about 1 ...

Assembly district (the Fifth and Twelfth

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of the City of Milwaukee), as a "democratic trades assembly" candidate, with 1,054 votes to 943 for Republican D. W. Chipman (incumbent Republican William Lindsay was not a candidate). He listed his party affiliation as "Trades Assembly" (one of two such) in the ''

Wisconsin Blue Book The ''Wisconsin Blue Book'' is a biennial publication of the Wisconsin's Legislative Reference Bureau. The ''Blue Book'' is an almanac containing information on the government, economics, demographics, geography and history of the state of Wisc ...

'', and was assigned to the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

on state affairs. Hooker was re-elected in 1884, again as a "democratic trades assembly" candidate, drawing 1,869 votes to 1,674 for Republican John Toohey and 59 votes for Prohibitionist Otto Miller. He was now listed as a Democrat, and remained on the state affairs committee. In 1886, Hooker had become simply a Democrat, and

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

Theodore Rudzinski was the "People's Party" nominee. He unseated Hooker with 1,705 votes to 832 votes for D. W. Chipman, 759 votes for Hooker, and 18 votes for

Prohibitionist Prohibitionism is a legal philosophy and political theory often used in lobbying which holds that citizens will abstain from actions if the actions are typed as unlawful (i.e. prohibited) and the prohibitions are enforced by law enforcement.C Canty ...

J. Y. Wolf. In later years, he was remembered as the "father" of the law requiring

fire escape A fire escape is a special kind of emergency exit, usually stairs or ladders mounted to the outside of a building—occasionally inside, but separate from the main areas of the building. It provides a method of escape in the event of a fire or ...

s on large buildings.

Later life

Hooker went to work for the Milwaukee

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

in approximately 1884 (the Assembly was not at that time a full-time job). He had worked there for ten years, and was a directory clerk, at the time of his death at his home in the Fernwood neighborhood of Milwaukee. He died on April 26, 1894 after an illness which had left him bedridden since January 1 of that year. He was buried in Fond du Lac's

Rienzi Cemetery ' (''Rienzi, the last of the tribunes''; WWV 49) is an 1842 opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel of the same name (1835). The title is commonly shortened to ''Rienzi' ...

, where his wife and other members of his family were interred."Daniel D. Hooker Dead: The Father of the Law Requiring Fire Escapes" ''Milwaukee Journal'' April 26, 1894; p. 2, col. 2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooker, Daniel 1831 births American amputees Businesspeople from Milwaukee Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Moldmakers Politicians from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin People from Perrysburg, New York Politicians from Milwaukee American postal officials Tool manufacturing companies of the United States Wisconsin Laborites 1894 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople American politicians with disabilities Burials at Rienzi Cemetery (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin) 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature