Biography/History

Michael N. Bleicher was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1935 to David and Rachel Bleicher. After receiving his undergraduate degree from the California Institute of Technology, Bleicher sought to become a mathematician, and continued his graduate education at Tulane University, receiving his M.S. in 1959 and his Ph.D. in 1961. He also had the opportunity to serve as a fellow at the University of Warsaw during 1960-1961, where he received a second Ph.D. In 1962 he came to Madison, Wisconsin to become a member of the Mathematics Department faculty at the University of Wisconsin.

Not long after he began teaching in Madison, Bleicher began to get involved in Wisconsin politics. In 1964 he was elected 10th Ward Chairman of the Dane County Democratic Party, and he became involved on the local party level in other ways as well. Much of his political work in Madison consisted of campaigning for Democratic candidates for local office. Initially his involvement was as a member of advisory committees (such as for Toby Reynolds, a Madison mayoral candidate in 1969). In 1970, he was the campaign manager for Midge Miller, who ran for the Wisconsin Assembly. The next year, he was the campaign manager for Leo Cooper, a candidate for mayor of Madison.

Concurrently, he was a regular delegate to the Wisconsin Democratic Conventions, and in 1971, was elected on the Administrative Committee of the Wisconsin State Democratic Party. He served on this committee until 1977, when he successfully ran for the office of Wisconsin State Democratic Party Chairman. His term as chairman lasted until 1979. Bleicher's involvement in politics at the national level came in 1968, when he served as Vice-Chairman of the Wisconsin Primary campaign for the Presidential candidacy of Eugene McCarthy. Later that year, Bleicher served on the Credentials Committee of the National Democratic Convention. In 1972 he again held this position, and was Vice-Chair of the Wisconsin Primary for another Presidential candidate, George McGovern. Between the 1972 and 1976 elections, Bleicher served as a member of the Democratic National Committee, and was also a delegate to the 1974 Democratic Mid-Term Convention. In 1976, he became the co-chair of the Wisconsin Primary for Fred Harris, another Democratic Candidate for President, and once again was a delegate to the National Convention.

Much of Bleicher's political activity was based on his attempts to reform the rules and organization of the party to make participation more democratic. As a member of the Credentials Committee in 1968, he oversaw several challenges to state delegations due to the failure of several states to adequately allow the participation of all races. In 1972, he again served on the Credentials Committee, and many of the challenges were based on the failure of some delegations to include a minimum percentage of women and minorities, as was mandated by new rules at the time. Bleicher's membership on the Administrative Committee of the Wisconsin Democratic Party involved complying with organization reforms mandated by the National Committee.

Bleicher continued to serve as a mathematics professor as well. Between 1972 and 1974 he was the chairman of the University of Wisconsin's Mathematics Department. He began writing for mathematical journals after receiving his Ph.D., and in 1968 co-authored Excursion in Mathematics; a new edition was published in 2000. Currently, Bleicher teaches Mathematics at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, while also holding the position of Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin.

1935	Born in Cleveland, Ohio
1957	Received B.S. degree from California Institute of Technology
1959	Received M.S. degree from Tulane University
1961	Received Ph.D. degrees from Tulane University and University of Warsaw
1964	Joined the faculty at University of Wisconsin at Madison as member of Mathematics Department
1964	10th Ward Chairman of the Dane County Democratic Party
1965-1966	Dane County Ward Organization Chairman
1968	Delegate to National Democratic Convention; Member of the Credentials Committee
1968	Vice-Chairman of the Wisconsin McCarthy for President Spring Primary (in charge of Western half of state)
1968	Distribution Chairman, Kastenmeier for Congress Committee, Fall election
1969	Chairman of the Wisconsin State Democratic Party Resolutions Committee
1969-1970	Acting Chairman of the Wisconsin New Democratic Coalition
1970	Campaign Manager of the Midge Miller for Assembly Fall election
1970-1977	Member of the Wisconsin Democratic Party Delegate Selection Commission
1971	Campaign Manager of the Leo Cooper for Mayor Spring election
1971-1973	Elected to the Wisconsin State Democratic Party Administrative Committee as a member-at-large
1971-1973	Vice Chairman of the Democratic Party of the 2nd Congressional District, Wisconsin
1972-1979	Member of the Democratic National Committee
1972	Delegate to National Democratic Convention, Member of the Credentials Committee
1972	Vice Chairman of the Wisconsin McCarthy for President Spring Primary campaign
1972	Floor Manager of the McGovern forces on Credentials Committee, National Democratic Convention
1972	Member of the National Steering Committee of the New Democratic Coalition
1972	Steering Committee, Leo Cooper for Mayor
1972-1973	Co-editor of the Wisconsin Progressive Democrat (defunct after three editions)
1973	Steering Committee, Paul Soglin for Mayor
1973	Member (ex-officio, voting) of the Wisconsin State Democratic Party Administrative Committee
1974	Chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party Development Commission
1974	Delegate to the Democratic National Mid-Term Conference
1975	Finance Committee Chairman, Paul Soglin for Mayor
1975-1976	Co-Chairman of the Wisconsin Harris for President primary campaign
1976	Delegate to National Democratic Convention; Member of the Rules Committee
1977-1979	Chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party
1979-1981	Staff, U.S. Department of Energy