Matthew Simpson Dudgeon (1871-1949)
Matthew S. Dudgeon was inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame at the Wisconsin Library Association Conference in Appleton on October 22, 2009. Dudgeon served as Secretary of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission (WFLC) from 1909 until 1920. He implemented an innovative books by mail program in 1914 under new parcel post regulations of the Post Office Department. Dudgeon played an active role in the Library War Service of the American Library Association in World War I. He took a leave of absence from the WFLC to serve as director of domestic camp libraries for the Library War Service. In 1920 he was appointed director of the Milwaukee Public Library, a position he held for 21 years. Dudgeon served as President of the Wisconsin Library Association in 1921-1922. Prior to his library career he was an attorney and was elected to the office of district attorney for Dane County in 1898 and re-elected in 1900. He was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 1902. Dudgeon was born on June 15, 1871 in Madison, Wisconsin. He is included in the Dictionary of American Library Biography and the Wisconsin Dictionary of History.
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