Robert M. La Follette Sr.

Robert Marion La Follette Sr. (1855–1925), nicknamed 'Fighting Bob', was an American lawyer and statesman from Wisconsin who was the undisputed leader of the early 20th-century Progressive Movement. Educated at the University of Wisconsin, he served as district attorney and congressman before serving as Governor of Wisconsin (1901–1906), where he implemented the 'Wisconsin Idea'—partnering academic university expertise with legislative governance.

As governor, La Follette instituted the direct primary election, civil service reform, progressive taxation, and railroad rate regulation. Entering the US Senate in 1906, he fought corporate monopoly trusts, championed women's suffrage and workers' compensation, and courageously opposed US entry into World War I. In 1924, running as the Progressive Party presidential nominee, he garnered nearly five million votes (16.6%), and in 1957 was chosen by the Senate as one of the five greatest senators in American history.