Washburn, Cadwallader Colden (1818–1882)

US land agent, industrialist, miller, and politician. In 1842 he opened a law office in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and in 1844 he formed a partnership with Cyrus Woodland to buy up valuable public land, which they then sold to settlers. The partnership dissolved in 1855 but Washburn continued as a developer. A Republican, he served Wisconsin in the US House of Representatives (1855–61), where he opposed attempts to make slavery legal. During the Civil War, he organized and led a volunteer cavalry from Wisconsin. After the war he served again in the US House of Representatives (1867–71) and as governor of Wisconsin (1872–73).

Washburn was born in Livermore, Maine. In 1839 he travelled west to Davenport, Iowa, where he held several jobs and read law. He was involved in a variety of businesses throughout his career, including lumber, railroads, and, most notably, his Minneapolis Mill Co., which became one of the largest flour-millers in the USA. Among his philanthropies were the University of Wisconsin's Washburn Observatory, a public library in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and an orphan asylum in Minneapolis, Minnesota.