| Honorific-Prefix: | The Honorable |
| Edward T. Fairchild | |
| Image Name: | Edward T. Fairchild (1872-1965) (8253035657) (1).jpg |
| Caption: | Fairchild circa 1940 |
| Order: | 15th |
| Chief Justice of the | |
| Term Start: | January 1, 1954 |
| Term End: | January 7, 1957 |
| Predecessor: | Oscar M. Fritz |
| Successor: | John E. Martin |
| Office1: | Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court |
| Appointer1: | Walter J. Kohler, Sr. |
| Term Start1: | April 30, 1930 |
| Term End1: | January 7, 1957 |
| Predecessor1: | Franz C. Eschweiler |
| Successor1: | Thomas E. Fairchild |
| Office2: | Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge |
| Appointer2: | Emanuel L. Philipp |
| Term Start2: | September 1916 |
| Term End2: | April 30, 1930 |
| Predecessor2: | Franz C. Eschweiler |
| Successor2: | John C. Kleczka |
| State3: | Wisconsin |
| State Senate3: | Wisconsin |
| District3: | 5th |
| Term Start3: | January 13, 1915 |
| Term End3: | September 1916 |
| Predecessor3: | George J. Weigle |
| Successor3: | Henry Otto Reinnoldt |
| Term Start4: | January 9, 1907 |
| Term End4: | January 11, 1911 |
| Predecessor4: | Charles Cassius Rogers |
| Successor4: | George J. Weigle |
| Birth Name: | Edward Thomas Fairchild |
| Birth Date: | 17 June 1872 |
| Birth Place: | Towanda, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Restingplace: | Green Mount Cemetery Dansville, New York |
| Party: | Republican |
| Religion: | --> |
Edward Thomas Fairchild (June 17, 1872October 29, 1965) was an American jurist and legislator from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the 15th chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court; he served on the Court for 27 years, from 1930 to 1957. Before that, he served 14 years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County. He also represented central Milwaukee County for six years as a Republican in the Wisconsin Senate. His son, Thomas E. Fairchild, was also a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and a judge of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Born in Towanda, Pennsylvania, Fairchild grew up in Dansville, New York, where he was educated. He was employed in a newspaper and studied law in the office of Rowe and Coyne. Later, he bought a farm in Dansville, where he would go to for vacations.[1]
After being admitted to the New York bar, he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he worked in the district attorney's office.
In 1906 he was elected to his first of three terms in the Wisconsin State Senate, ultimately serving in the 48th, 49th, and 52nd sessions of the Wisconsin legislature. In 1916, during the 52nd session of the legislature, he was appointed a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County.
In 1930, Fairchild was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court[2] and served as chief justice from 1954 until his retirement in 1957.
In 1957, he administered the oath of office when his son, Thomas E. Fairchild, was sworn in as a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.[3]