Fred J. Hasley (December 5, 1884 – April 4, 1939) 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 ...

typesetter Typesetting is the composition of Written language, text for publication, display, or distribution by means of arranging metal type, physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or ''glyphs'' in digital systems representing ''char ...

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 ...

who served one term as a

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

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 ...

Background

Hasley was born in Milwaukee on December 5, 1884 and was educated in the

Milwaukee Public Schools Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) is the largest school district in Wisconsin. As of the 2015–16 school year, MPS served 75,568 students in 154 schools and had 9,636 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff positions. The system is one of the largest i ...

, graduating in 1900, and going into the printer's trade. He became a member of the Typographical Union Local 23 in 1904. He had never held a public office of any kind until being elected to the Assembly in 1920, although he had held offices in his union.

Public office

He was elected to the Assembly in 1920 to succeed fellow Socialist Edwin Knappe in representing the Tenth

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 21st and 25th

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of the City of Milwaukee). He ran unopposed (one of three Socialists in Milwaukee to do so that year), receiving 6,918 votes to 3 for other persons; and was appointed to the

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. He did not run for re-election in 1922 after a

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

split his district into the new Fourth and Third Milwaukee County Districts; and was succeeded by fellow Socialists Frank J. Weber and Thomas M. Duncan, both of whom were elected without opposition.

Death

Hasley killed himself in Milwaukee County one half mile north of Silver Springs Road by leaping in front of an interurban electric street car and his body was dragged 45 feet. Hasley's sister said he was depressed about losing his job as a proofreader of a Milwaukee newspaper that went out of business a few months before.'Ex-Assemblyman Leaps in Front of Street Car, Killed,' Wisconsin State Journal, April 5, 1939, pg. 1

References

1884 births 1939 suicides 1939 deaths Politicians from Milwaukee Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Socialist Party of America politicians from Wisconsin Typesetters Suicides in Wisconsin American politicians who died by suicide 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-stub