lawyer, politician, b. Berlin, Germany. He migrated with his parents to the U.S. in 1850 and to Milwaukee in 1855. There he studied law in the office of Smith and Salomon, and in 1862 became executive secretary to Ed-ward Salomon (q.v.) when Salomon succeeded to the governorship on the death of Governor Lewis P. Harvey (q.v.). Wallber was admitted to the bar in 1864, and from 1864 to 1865 served as assistant state attorney general. A Republican, he was state assemblyman (1872), city attorney for Milwaukee (1873-1878), and mayor of Milwaukee (1884-1888). In his capacity as mayor, Wallber was faced with the labor unrest of 1886, and was bitterly criticized by some groups for asking Governor Jeremiah Rusk (q.v.) to call out the militia to deal with the city-wide 8-hour-day strikes of May, 1886. Wallber later served as judge of Milwaukee municipal court (1890-1895), judge of the criminal court (1895-1900), and judge of Milwaukee County court (1900-1902). From 1883 to 1890 he was a regent of the state normal schools, and from 1906 to 1917 acted as German consular agent in Milwaukee. Retiring from active public affairs in 1917, Wallber continued to make his home in Milwaukee until his death. J. R. Berryman, ed., Bench and Bar of Wis. (2 vols., Chicago, 1898); W. G. Bruce, ed., Hist. of Milwaukee (3 vols., Chicago, 1922); B. Still, Milwaukee (Madison, 1948); Milwaukee Journal, June 4, 1923.Learn More
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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]
