Oscar John Larson (May 20, 1871 – August 1, 1957) 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 ...

Life

Larson was born in a Swedish-speaking family in

Uleåborg Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

in the Grand Duchy of Finland (then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

). He immigrated to the United States in 1876 with his parents, who settled in

Calumet, Michigan Calumet ( or ) is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County, in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, that was once at the center of the mining industry of the Upper Peninsula. Also known as Red Jacket, the village includes the C ...

. He attended the public schools and graduated from the Northern Indiana Normal School (now Valparaiso University) in 1891. He subsequently graduated from the law department of the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

in 1894, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in

Calumet Calumet may refer to: Places United States *Calumet Region, in northern Illinois and Indiana **Calumet River **Calumet Trail, Indiana ** Calumet (East Chicago) * Calumet, Colorado *Calumet, Iowa * Calumet, Michigan *Calumet, Minnesota * Calumet ...

in 1894. He served as the prosecuting attorney for Houghton County from 1899 to 1904. In 1907, he moved to

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

and continued the practice of law. He was elected as a Republican to the 67th and 68th congresses, (March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1925), opting not to run for re-election in 1924. He resumed the practice of law for many years and died in Duluth on August 1, 1957. He is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

Awards and recognitions

Larson received the Order of the White Rose of Finland (knight) in 1920, and he was promoted to commander in 1933.

References

American Congregationalists Valparaiso University alumni Finnish emigrants to the United States (1809–1917) 1871 births 1957 deaths University of Michigan Law School alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota People from Oulu {{Minnesota-politician-stub