Balthasar Henry Meyer was born at Mequon, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin on May 28, 1866. He attended local schools and in 1884 took a position as district school teacher in Wisconsin. Before he entered the Oshkosh State Normal School, he had advanced to district superintendent. He graduated from normal school in 1893 and the next year undertook advanced work at the University of Berlin. He entered the University of Wisconsin in 1895 as a graduate student and received a Ph.D. in 1897. He taught at the University of Wisconsin from 1897 to 1905, obtaining a full professorship in the Department of Political Economy in 1900. In 1905 he was granted leave from the University to serve on the Wisconsin Railroad Commission. President Taft appointed Meyer to the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1910, where he served until 1939. Mayer is the author of several books and many articles, chiefly on government regulation of transportation, especially railroads.
