# Floyd B. Olson *Governor of Minnesota (1931–1936), Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party* Floyd Bjørnstjerne "Skipper" Olson (November 13, 1891 – August 22, 1936) was a lawyer and politician. He held office as the 22nd [[Governor of Minnesota]] for three terms, from January 6, 1931, until he died in office on August 22, 1936, aged 44.[^1] He belonged to the Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party, and he was the first of its members to be elected governor.[^1] Before he became governor, Olson was a prosecutor. He joined the Hennepin County Attorney's office as an assistant in 1919, became [[Hennepin County Attorney]] in 1920, and was re-elected in 1922 and 1926.[^1] The Minnesota Historical Society keeps a finding aid for his papers and a MNopedia entry on him, and the National Governors Association lists him among former governors.[^4][^5][^6] ## Early life Olson was the only child of Paul Olsen, who was Norwegian, and Ida Maria (Nilsdotter), who was Swedish. He was born and raised on the north side of [[Minneapolis]].[^1] Many Orthodox Jewish families lived in that neighborhood. As a boy, Olson performed Sabbath tasks for Jewish neighbors as a shabbos goy and learned Yiddish, which he later spoke while campaigning.[^1] Olson finished North High School in 1909 and then took a job with the Northern Pacific Railway. He spent one year at the [[University of Minnesota]] before leaving.[^1] He then worked in Canada and Alaska. In Seattle he worked as a stevedore and joined the Industrial Workers of the World.[^1] He came back to [[Minnesota]] in 1913 and studied at the Northwestern College of Law, now William Mitchell College of Law, where he took his degree in 1915. In the same year he married Ada Krejci in New Prague and began practicing law.[^1] ## Hennepin County Attorney Olson was appointed an assistant county attorney in 1919. In 1920 he became county attorney, succeeding [[William Nash]], who according to the Wikipedia account was fired for accepting bribes.[^1] As county attorney he prosecuted business figures and brought a case against the Ku Klux Klan. That case drew public attention, and he received death threats.[^1] During the same period he helped form the Committee of 48, which tried to draft Senator Robert M. La Follette for a third-party presidential run. He also lost a Democratic primary for a U.S. House seat.[^1] ## Candidate for governor In 1923 Olson brought a case against leaders of the Minnesota Citizens Alliance, a conservative business organization. The case concerned the dynamiting of a union leader's home, which the Wikipedia account attributes to a hitman hired by those leaders.[^1] Labor supporters then urged him to seek the Farmer-Labor nomination for governor in 1924. After winning the endorsement of the Hennepin County Farmer-Labor Central Committee, he won a contested primary by a narrow margin.[^1] In the general election he took 43% of the vote. Republican [[Theodore Christianson]] took 48%, and Democrat Carlos Avery took 6%.[^1] The renamed Farmer-Labor Association tried to draft Olson again in 1928, and he declined.[^1] In 1930, after the stock market crash and during the Great Depression, he won the nomination. He then took 59% of the vote in a four-way general election and carried 82 of the state's 87 counties.[^1] ## Olson as governor When Olson took office, the legislature was officially non-partisan, but conservative Republicans controlled it in practice.[^1] Over his three terms, the legislature passed bills he proposed that: - established a progressive income tax; - created an old-age social security program; - expanded conservation programs; - guaranteed equal pay for women and the right to collective bargaining; - set a minimum wage; - created unemployment insurance.[^1] State Senator Milton Lightner criticized him for not vetoing any appropriations bill in his first term.[^1] Olson also sought state ownership of electric utilities, iron mines, oil fields, grain elevators and meatpacking plants. That measure was never enacted. Legislators called the proposal socialism, while Olson described it as "cooperativism".[^1] Voters re-elected him in 1932 and 1934.[^1] In 1933, *Time* magazine quoted him speaking from the capitol steps: "I am making a last appeal to the Legislature."[^1] In 1934, during Olson's second term, a three-judge federal District Court in Minnesota, including Circuit Judge Sanborn, decided *Powers Mercantile Co. v. Olson*, 7 F. Supp. 865 (D. Minn. 1934).[^2][^3] The case rows assembled for this record give the caption, citation and court. They do not state the subject of the suit or the capacity in which an Olson was named.[^2][^3] ## Final days On November 18, 1935, Olson announced that he would run against incumbent U.S. Senator Thomas Schall. He had already ruled out a third-party run for president in 1936.[^1] Schall died the next month after a road accident. Olson appointed Elmer Benson as interim successor, and Benson pledged not to run for the seat in 1936.[^1] Olson had suffered from severe ulcers since his election. In December 1935 he went to the Mayo Clinic, where doctors diagnosed cancer, most likely stomach cancer, although sources disagree on the type.[^1] He was not told how serious his condition was until near the end of his life. He went back to his duties as governor and to his Senate campaign, during which he called for federal ownership of monopolies.[^1] His last public appearance was a speech in Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis on June 29, 1936. He went back to the Mayo Clinic the next day and died there on August 22, 1936. He was buried in [[Lakewood Cemetery]].[^1] ## Monuments Soon after Olson's death, Minnesota State Highway 55, which was then under construction, was given the name "Floyd B. Olson Memorial Highway".[^1] In late 2004 the Taxpayers League proposed renaming the highway for Ronald Reagan. The proposal met wide public opposition and was dropped.[^1] The Wikipedia account reports that dozens of statues of Olson stand across the state, many describing him as Minnesota's "greatest governor".[^1] In 1974 his home at 1914 West 49th Street in Minneapolis was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Olson was a member of the Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party and was the first of its members to be elected governor.[^1] - In 1920 he succeeded William Nash as Hennepin County Attorney.[^1] ### What - Olson was the 22nd governor of Minnesota and served three terms.[^1] - *Powers Mercantile Co. v. Olson*, 7 F. Supp. 865 (D. Minn. 1934), was decided by a three-judge District Court.[^2][^3] ### When - He was appointed assistant county attorney in 1919 and became county attorney in 1920. He was re-elected in 1922 and 1926.[^1] - He took office as governor on January 6, 1931, and died in office on August 22, 1936.[^1] ### Where - He was born on the north side of Minneapolis and died at the Mayo Clinic.[^1] - The Minnesota Historical Society keeps a finding aid for his papers, and MNopedia and Encyclopedia.com carry reference entries on him.[^4][^5][^7] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Floyd B. Olson* (revision 1380701563, retrieved 2026-10-25) — biographical, electoral and office record for Olson. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_B._Olson [^2]: United States District Court, District of Minnesota (three-judge court), *Powers Mercantile Co. v. Olson*, 7 F. Supp. 865 (1934), via CourtListener — caption, citation and court. https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1909125/powers-mercantile-co-v-olson/ [^3]: United States District Court, District of Minnesota, *Powers Mercantile Co. v. Olson*, 7 F. Supp. 865 (1934), via Justia — corroborating text of the opinion. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/7/865/1909125/ [^4]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Floyd B. Olson Finding Aids* — archival finding aid for Olson's papers. https://storage.googleapis.com/mnhs-finding-aids-public/library/findaids/01532.html [^5]: Minnesota Historical Society, MNopedia, *Floyd B. Olson (1891–1936)* — reference entry on Olson. https://www.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/person/olson-floyd-b-1891-1936 [^6]: National Governors Association, *Floyd B. Olson* — former-governor listing. https://www.nga.org/governor/floyd-olson/ [^7]: Encyclopedia.com, *Olson, Floyd B.* — reference entry on Olson. https://www.encyclopedia.com/economics/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/olson-floyd-b