John Sharpless

John Sharpless is a historian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a former political candidate.

Biography
Sharpless was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1945. He went on to live in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Wayzata, Minnesota. Sharpless is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and the University of Michigan.

Academic career
Sharpless began teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1975. His specialties include social and economic history. From 1985 to 1986, Sharpless taught at the University of Papua New Guinea as part of the Fulbright Program. He is Professor Emeritus at Wisconsin-Madison.

Political career
Sharpless was a Republican candidate for the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district in 2000. He lost to incumbent Democrat Tammy Baldwin. Previously, he had been a candidate for the GOP nomination for the seat in 1998, losing to Josephine Musser.