W. Lawrence established the first debating society.

The evidence

• “"W. Lawrence, who established the first debating society in 1841. Other instructors in the village school were Messrs.”

  1908-brown-rock-county/12-janesville-schools.md, Vol. 1, PDF p. 281 / book p. 258

  Brown, William Fiske, editor. Rock County, Wisconsin: A New History of Its Cities, Villages, Towns, Citizens and Varied Interests, from the Earliest Times, Up to Date. Chicago: C. F. Cooper & Co., 1908. 2 vols. archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon01brow, archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon02brow.

  Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources