Background
Reynolds was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin to John W. Reynolds, Senior and his wife.
attorney general governor judge lawyer
Reynolds was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin to John W. Reynolds, Senior and his wife.
After serving in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946, he received a Bachelor of Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin in 1946 and an Bachelor of Laws from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1949.
A Democrat, he served as the 36th Governor of Wisconsin. Reynolds was a district director for the United States. Office of Price Stabilization from 1951 to 1953. He then served as a United States. Commissioner for the United States. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin from 1953 to 1958.
Reynolds was elected Attorney General of Wisconsin, serving in that role from 1959 to 1963.
In November 1962 he was elected Governor of Wisconsin, serving from 1963 to 1965. Reynolds opposed segregationist George Wallace in the 1964 Democratic presidential primaries who would otherwise have run unopposed, as Lyndon Johnson refused to say he was in the race.
As is required, Wisconsin delegates to the 1964 Democratic National Convention voted for Reynolds on the first ballot, then voted for Johnson. On October 13, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin to a seat vacated by Kenneth P. Grubb.
He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 21, 1965 and received his commission the same day.
He served as chief judge from 1971 to 1986. As a judge, he ordered the desegregation of Milwaukee"s schools in 1976. Reynolds assumed senior status on August 31, 1986, and served until his death.
Reynolds died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the age of 80 due to complications from heart disease.