Richard W. Guenther

Who was Richard W. Guenther?

Richard William Guenther was a Prussian-born 19th century politician and pharmacist in Wisconsin.

Born in Potsdam, Province of Brandenburg, Guenther received a college education and graduated from the Royal Pharmacy in Potsdam. He immigrated to the United States in 1866, settling in New York City, New York. He moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 1867 and engaged in the pharmaceutical business. He was Wisconsin State Treasurer from 1878 to 1882 and was elected a Republican to the United States House of Representatives in 1880, serving from 1881 to 1889. He first represented Wisconsin's 6th congressional district, however redistricted and represented Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district for the 50th United States Congress. He overall represented Wisconsin from the 47th to the 50th Congress.

Guenther was appointed consul general in Mexico City, Mexico by President Benjamin Harrison in 1890, serving until 1893, in Frankfurt, Germany by President William McKinley in 1898, serving until 1910, and to Cape Town, South Africa by President William Howard Taft in 1910, serving until his death in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on April 5, 1913. He was interred in Riverside Cemetery in Oshkosh.