# Oscar Knutson *Minnesota jurist; chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court from 1962 to 1973* Oscar Rudolph Knutson (October 9, 1899 – June 15, 1981) was a Minnesota lawyer and judge. He served on the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] from 1948 and was its chief justice from 1962 until he retired in 1973.[^1] Before reaching the high court, Knutson practiced law in Warren, lost a 1930 race for county attorney, and was elected mayor of Warren three times beginning in 1936.[^1] He came to each of his three judicial posts the same way. A governor appointed him as district judge in 1941, as associate justice in 1948, and as chief justice in 1962. Voters then elected him to each post: in 1942, 1948 and 1964.[^1] ## Early life and education Knutson was born in Superior, Wisconsin. His parents, Bottolf Knutson (1865–1940) and Rachel (Satren) Knutson (1864–1929), had both immigrated from Norway.[^1] He spoke no English before he began school.[^1] In 1920 he finished high school in Warren, Minnesota. He then studied at St. Olaf College and at the Northwestern School of Agriculture, which is now part of the [[University of Minnesota]] as its Crookston campus. He took his law degree from the [[University of Minnesota Law School]] in 1927.[^1] ## Career In Warren, Knutson practiced law alongside [[Julius J. Olson]], who was later also a justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.[^1] In 1930 he ran for Marshall County Attorney and lost. He won the Warren mayoralty in 1936 and was returned to that office in two later elections.[^1] While mayor, he and two partners bought the Warren Telephone Company and ran it until 1949.[^1] Governor [[Harold Stassen]] named Knutson a district court judge in 1941, and Knutson kept the seat at the 1942 election.[^1] On May 7, 1948, Governor [[Luther Youngdahl]] appointed him to the Minnesota Supreme Court to fill Olson's place. He won the seat at the election that same year and kept it in 1954 and again in 1960.[^1] Governor [[Elmer L. Andersen]] made him Chief Justice on January 25, 1962. Knutson won that office at the 1964 election and was re-elected in 1970.[^1] St. Olaf College presented him with its Alumni Award in 1962.[^1] He left the court in 1973.[^1] ## Later life and death After his retirement, Knutson suffered a stroke that left him blind. He died in 1981.[^1] He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery at Warren, in [[Marshall County, Minnesota]].[^1] The *[[Star Tribune]]* published his obituary on June 17, 1981.[^1] ## Personal life In 1934 Knutson married Louise Halvorson (1897–1955), and the couple had four children.[^1] After Louise died, he married Katherine Mellby Anderson in 1968. She was a granddaughter of Andrew Grindeland, a judge from Warren.[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Oscar R. Knutson, associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court from 1948 and chief justice from 1962 to 1973.[^1] ### When - Appointed district judge in 1941. Appointed to the Supreme Court on May 7, 1948. Appointed Chief Justice on January 25, 1962. Retired in 1973.[^1] ### Where - Born in Superior, Wisconsin. Practiced law, served as mayor, and was buried in Warren, Marshall County, Minnesota.[^1] ### How - Each judicial post began with a governor's appointment: Stassen in 1941, Youngdahl in 1948 and Andersen in 1962. Each appointment was followed by a popular election.[^1] ### How many - Five elections to the Minnesota Supreme Court: 1948, 1954, 1960, 1964 and 1970.[^1] - One election as district judge, in 1942.[^1] - Three elections as mayor of Warren: 1936 and two re-elections.[^1] - One defeat, in the 1930 race for Marshall County Attorney.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Oscar Knutson* (revision 1380638677, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes Knutson's birth, parentage, education, legal and mayoral career, judicial appointments and elections, retirement, death, burial, marriages, and the *Star Tribune* obituary of June 17, 1981. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Knutson