Wilder William Crane, Jr. (April 7, 1928 - December 7, 1985) was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Crane was born on April 7, 1928, in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.[1] He initially worked as a lumberjack. His father owned Crane Lumber in Chippewa Falls. After serving in the state Assembly, he worked as a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He graduated from Carlton College and received his master's degree from Harvard University.[2] Crane said that the county businessmen who gave him an Ivy League education expected him to serve in the Assembly as a "return on their investment."
Crane was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1957 to 1958. He was a Republican.[3] Among his actions as a legislator, he introduced a bill to the Assembly in 1957 that would permit publishing the names of juvenile offenders,[4] and he opposed a 1957 resolution honoring Joseph McCarthy.[5]
Crane wrote a book on Wisconsin state politics which he used for his state politics course.