Carl Gunderson (June 20, 1864February 26, 1933)''Biographical Directory of the South Dakota Legislature, 1889–1989'' (1989), p. 400 was an American politician who served as the 11th Governor of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

. Gunderson, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

from

Mitchell, South Dakota Mitchell is a city in and the county seat of Davison County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,660 at the 2020 census making it the sixth most populous city in South Dakota. Mitchell is the principal city of the Mitchell Micr ...

, served from 1925 to 1927.

Biography

Gunderson was born in a log cabin in

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Flor ...

in the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

, near

Vermillion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It is ...

. As a young man, he filed a claim on a homestead in

that remained dear to him all his life. He stated that his occupation was a farmer all his life. He attended the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship univ ...

and

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. He went into the mercantile business in Vermillion. He married Gertrude Bertleson and they had four children.

Career

Gunderson served five terms in the state senate of the

South Dakota Legislature The South Dakota State Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of South Dakota. It is a bicameral legislative body, consisting of the South Dakota Senate, which has 35 members, and the South Dakota House of Representatives, which ...

, being elected in 1892, 1896, 1898, 1900, and again in 1916. Gunderson served as president pro tempore of the senate in the 1899 session and served as the 13th

Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota The lieutenant governor of South Dakota is the second-ranking member of the executive branch of South Dakota state government and also serves as presiding officer of the South Dakota Senate. The lieutenant governor succeeds to the officer of go ...

from 1921 to 1925 under Governor William H. McMaster. In

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

, when McMaster declined to seek re-election, Gunderson successfully ran to succeed him. He defeated the Democratic nominee,

William J. Bulow William John Bulow (January 13, 1869February 26, 1960) was an American politician and lawyer. He was the first Democratic Governor of South Dakota, serving from 1927 to 1931. He received the highest number of votes of any Democratic candidate fo ...

, in a landslide. In

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

, however, Gunderson narrowly lost to Bulow in a rematch of the 1924 election. He ran for Governor again in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

. In the Republican primary, no candidate received 35% of the vote, and under state law, the nomination had to be decided by a convention of the state Republican Party. Despite placing second in the primary, Gunderson fared poorly in the convention; his support collapsed quickly and he faded from contention after the first few ballots. In

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

, Gunderson challenged Republican Governor

Warren Green Warren Everett Green (March 10, 1869 – April 27, 1945) was an American politician who served as the 13th governor of South Dakota. Green, a Republican from Hazel, South Dakota, served from 1931 to 1933. He was also a state senator from 191 ...

for renomination, but lost the Republican primary in a landslide.

Death

After his defeat he returned to his home in Mitchell until his death on February 26, 1933.Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978
/ref> He was buried on the tract of land that he had homesteaded, Bluff View Cemetery, Vermillion, Clay County, South Dakota US.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunderson, Carl 1864 births 1933 deaths Republican Party governors of South Dakota Lieutenant Governors of South Dakota Republican Party South Dakota state senators American people of Norwegian descent People from Vermillion, South Dakota