Charles Dunn (Wisconsin politician)

The Honorable
Charles Dunn
Portrait from The Story of a Great Court (1912)
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Wisconsin Territory
In office
1836–1848
Appointed byAndrew Jackson
Preceded byPosition Established
Succeeded byAlexander W. Stow
(state government)
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 13th district
In office
January 3, 1853  January 5, 1857
Preceded byE. B. West
Succeeded byPhilemon Simpson
Personal details
Born(1799-12-28)December 28, 1799
Bullitt's Lick, Bullitt County, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedApril 7, 1872(1872-04-07) (aged 72)
Mineral Point, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting placeGreenwood Cemetery
Platteville, Wisconsin
Spouses
  • Mary E. Shrader
  • (m. 1821; died 1878)
Children
  • Catherine (Dewey)
  • (died 1898)
  • Otho Shrader Dunn
  • (b. 1822; died 1834)
  • John Dunn
  • (b. 1824; died 1910)
  • Cynthia Dunn
  • (b. 1832; died 1835)
  • Henry Dunn
  • (b. 1841; died 1848)
  • Mamie Dunn
  • (b. 1851; died 1859)
Parents
  • John Dunn (father)
  • Amy (Burks) Dunn (mother)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceIllinois Militia
Battles/warsBlack Hawk War

Charles Dunn (December 28, 1799  April 7, 1872) was an American lawyer, judge, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was the only chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Wisconsin Territory. He was one of the chief framers of the Constitution of Wisconsin, chairing the committee on the judiciary at the constitutional convention in the winter of 18471848. After Wisconsin became a state he served four years in the Wisconsin Senate, representing Lafayette County from 1853 to 1857. He is the namesake of Dunn County, Wisconsin.

Charles Dunn's eldest daughter, Catherine, married Wisconsin's first state governor, Nelson Dewey.