Joseph Wilson Fifer (October 28, 1840 – August 6, 1938) was the 19th governor of Illinois, serving from 1889 to 1893.

At the age of 16, in 1856, he moved with his family to Danvers, Illinois and worked in his father's brickyard for several years.

Fifer enlisted as a Private in the 33rd Illinois Infantry at the start of the Civil War and was severely wounded at Jackson, Mississippi during General Grant's Vicksburg campaign.

He refused a discharge and spent the rest of the war guarding a prison boat.

He studied law at Illinois Wesleyan University and became the tax collector at Danvers Township.