Paul John Kvale (; March 27, 1896 – June 14, 1960) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Early life

Kvale who was born in

Orfordville, Wisconsin Orfordville is a village in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States, at the intersection of Highway 11, Highway 213, and the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad. The population was 1,442 at the 2010 census. History The origin of its name came when a ...

as the son of Ole J. Kvale. He attended the Orfordville school and the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. In 1917, he moved to

Benson, Minnesota Benson is a city in Swift County, Minnesota, United States, along the Chippewa River. The population was 3,240 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat. History Benson was platted in 1870 when the railroad was extended to that point. As the e ...

with his parents. Kvale was graduated from Luther College in

Decorah, Iowa Decorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S. Route 52, and is the largest commun ...

, in 1917 and served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in a

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

corps, from September 7, 1917, to August 4, 1919. After the war, he became a student at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

in 1919 and 1920, after which he returned to and engaged as editor of the ''Swift County News'' in 1920 and 1921. In 1921, he became staff editor of the ''

Minneapolis Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

''.

Political career

From 1922 to 1929, Kvale served as secretary to his father, who was a member of the United States Congress. After his father's death, he was elected as a Farmer-Labor candidate to the

71st congress The 71st United States Congress was a meeting of the United States Congress, legislature of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. f ...

to fill the vacancy. Kvale was re-elected to the 72nd, 73rd, 74th, and 75th congresses, and served from October 16, 1929, to January 3, 1939. His run for reelection in 1938 to the 76th congress was unsuccessful. On June 14, 1960, Kvale died in

, Minnesota. He was interred at the Protestant Cemetery in

Swift County, Minnesota Swift County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,838. Its county seat is Benson. History Swift County is in west central Minnesota and consists of with three tiers of seven townships each. ...

. Asked how to say his name, Kvale told ''

The Literary Digest ''The Literary Digest'' was an influential American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current O ...

'': "Pronounced ''qually'', rhymes with ''golly.''"''What's the Name, Please?'',

Charles Earle Funk Charles Earle Funk (1881–1957) was an American lexicographer. He was a member of the Funk family who owned the publisher Funk & Wagnalls; Dr. Isaac Funk was his uncle. Funk wrote several etymological dictionaries An etymological dictionary d ...

, (

Funk & Wagnalls Funk & Wagnalls was an American publisher known for its reference works, including ''A Standard Dictionary of the English Language'' (1st ed. 1893–5), and the ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia'' (25 volumes, 1st ed. 1912).Funk & Wagnalls N ...

, 1936)

References

Other sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kvale, Paul John 1960 deaths People from Orfordville, Wisconsin Members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota American Lutherans American people of Norwegian descent 1896 births University of Minnesota alumni Minnesota Farmer–Laborites Luther College (Iowa) alumni Farmer–Labor Party members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians People from Benson, Minnesota 20th-century Lutherans Military personnel from Minnesota United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army non-commissioned officers