| Honorific-Prefix: | The Honorable |
| John B. Cassoday | |
| Order: | 9th |
| Chief Justice of the | |
| Term Start: | July 4, 1895 |
| Term End: | December 30, 1907 |
| Predecessor: | Harlow S. Orton |
| Successor: | John B. Winslow |
| Office1: | Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court |
| Appointer1: | William E. Smith |
| Term Start1: | November 11, 1880 |
| Term End1: | December 30, 1907 |
| Predecessor1: | Edward George Ryan |
| Successor1: | Robert McKee Bashford |
| Order2: | 27th |
| Title2: | Speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly |
| Term Start2: | January 10, 1877 |
| Term End2: | January 9, 1878 |
| Predecessor2: | Sam Fifield |
| Successor2: | Augustus Barrows |
| State3: | Wisconsin |
| State Assembly3: | Wisconsin |
| District3: | Rock 2nd |
| Term Start3: | January 1, 1877 |
| Term End3: | January 1, 1878 |
| Predecessor3: | Fenner Kimball |
| Successor3: | Charles R. Gleason |
| State4: | Wisconsin |
| State Assembly4: | Wisconsin |
| District4: | Rock 5th |
| Term Start4: | January 1, 1865 |
| Term End4: | January 1, 1866 |
| Predecessor4: | Hamilton Richardson |
| Successor4: | Allen C. Bates |
| Birth Name: | John Bolivar Cassoday |
| Birth Date: | 7 July 1830 |
| Birth Place: | Herkimer County, New York |
| Restingplace: | Forest Hill Cemetery Madison, Wisconsin |
| Profession: | lawyer, judge |
| Signature: | John B. Cassoday signature.png |
John Bolivar Cassoday (July 7, 1830December 30, 1907) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge. He was the 9th Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the 27th Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly.[1]
Born in Herkimer County, New York, he moved with his widowed mother to Tioga County, Pennsylvania, at age 3. After one year at the University of Michigan, he attended the Albany Law School. He moved to Janesville, Wisconsin, in July 1857 and established a law practice.
Politically, Cassoday was a Republican. He was a delegate from Wisconsin to the 1864 National Union National Convention, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for re-election, and was also a candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly that year on Lincoln's National Union ticket. He was elected to represent Janesville in the Assembly for the 1865 session, and was later elected to the 1877 session. In the 1877 session, he was chosen as Speaker by a vote of the Assembly. In 1880, he was chairman of the Wisconsin delegation to the 1880 Republican National Convention.[2] [3]
Later in 1880, Cassoday was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court by Governor William E. Smith, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Chief Justice Edward George Ryan. Cassoday was elected to remain in office in 1881, and was re-elected in 1889 and 1899. In 1895, Chief Justice Harlow S. Orton died in office. As the next most senior member of the court, Cassoday became the chief justice. Cassoday served twelve years as Chief Justice until his death in 1907.[4] He was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison.
John B. Cassoday is the namesake of Cassoday, Kansas.[5]