Joseph D. Beck

Life & Legacy

Joseph David Beck (March 14, 1866 – November 8, 1936) was an American farmer, labor reform advocate, and progressive Republican politician from Vernon County, Wisconsin. He served four terms in the United States House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 7th congressional district from 1921 to 1929. He was a close ally of Wisconsin governor and U.S. senator Robert M. "Fighting Bob" La Follette. Working for La Follette's administration earlier in his career, Beck contributed significantly to the crafting of Wisconsin's worker's compensation laws through his work on the Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics. He was then one of the initial appointees to the Wisconsin Industrial Commission (serving from 1911 through 1917) and was chairman of the commission from 1915 through 1917.
His name was often abbreviated J. D. Beck. Throughout his life, he was also sometimes incorrectly referred to as "John D. Beck". Due to his role in the Industrial Commission, he was the editor for the Wisconsin Blue Book for 1907, 1909, and 1911.