Publius Virgilius Lawson (November 1, 1853 – December 1, 1920) was a lawyer, historian, manufacturer and politician from Menasha, Wisconsin.

[1] His father, Publius Virgilius Lawson Sr, was a carpenter and builder, born in 1825.

By 1877 he was already practicing law on a limited scale in Menasha, which he continued for ten years after graduation.

Lawson himself wrote the foremost description of Stevens' invention, an account that was very praiseworthy despite the fact that it had a negative effect on a business he owned.

[8] Lawson wrote prolifically on history, focused mostly on the Fox river Valley.

[11] In 1918, Lawson was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly replacing William Arnemann who died in office and declined reelection at the end of his term.