Richard F. Pettigrew (July 23, 1848 - October 5, 1926) was an American lawyer, surveyor, and land developer. He represented the Dakota Territory in the U.S. Congress and, after the Dakotas were admitted as States, he was a U.S. Senator from the South Dakota. Richard was born in Ludlow, Windsor County, Vermont, and moved with his parents to Wisconsin in 1854. He studied law in Iowa, and entered the law department of the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1867. He moved to Dakota in 1869 to work with a United States deputy surveyor.
Pettigrew settled in Sioux Falls, where he practiced law and engaged in surveying and real estate. He was a member of the territorial House of Representatives and served on the Territorial council. He was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House, serving from March 4, 1881 - March 3, 1883. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1882, but returned to the territorial council from 1885 to 1889.
When South Dakota was admitted as a State, Pettigrew was elected to the United States Senate. He served from November 2, 1889 to March 3, 1901. He was re-elected in 1894, but left the Republican party on June 17, 1896 to join the "Silver Republicans", a faction of the Republican Party which opposed the party's position in support of the monetary gold standard. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1900.
After his time in the Senate, Pettigrew first practiced law in New York City, but soon returned to Sioux Falls and was active in politics and business until his death in that city. He was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in Sioux Falls.
