Dexter Curtis (September 12, 1828 – May 15, 1898) was an American inventor, businessman, and politician. Born in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, Curtis grew up on a farm. He was in the lumber business and lived in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, and Chicago, Illinois. In 1866, Curtis moved to the town of

Burke Burke is an Anglo-Norman Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had the surname ''de Burgh'' which was gaelicised ...

Dane County, Wisconsin Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital. Dane County is the ...

and was a farmer. Curtis invented and patented the Curtis zinc horse-collar pad. The factory for the horse-collar pads was located in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. He also operated a dry goods business. Curtis served on the Madison Common Council and was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. In 1883, Curtis served in the Wisconsin State Senate from Madison, Wisconsin. Curtis died in Madison, Wisconsin from a heart attack ("apoplexy of the heart").''Wisconsin Its Story and Biography 1848–1913'', volume 6,

Ellis Baker Usher Ellis Baker Usher (June 21, 1852April 21, 1931) was an American journalist, newspaper publisher, and Democratic politician. He served as chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin from 1887 to 1890, and was publisher of the La Crosse ''Chronic ...

, Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York: 1914, Biographical Sketch of William Dexter Curtis, pp. 1430–1432 (Information about his father Dexter Curtis).

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* 1828 births 1898 deaths Politicians from Schenectady, New York Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin Businesspeople from Madison, Wisconsin Farmers from New York (state) Farmers from Wisconsin 19th-century American inventors Wisconsin city council members 19th-century American politicians Businesspeople from Schenectady, New York People from Burke, Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-Democratic-stub