Luther W. Youngdahl
Youngdahl in 1949
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
In office
May 29, 1966 – June 21, 1978
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
In office
August 29, 1951 – May 29, 1966
Appointed byHarry S. Truman
Preceded byThomas Alan Goldsborough
Succeeded byJohn Lewis Smith Jr.
27th Governor of Minnesota
In office
January 8, 1947 – September 27, 1951
LieutenantC. Elmer Anderson
Preceded byEdward John Thye
Succeeded byC. Elmer Anderson
Personal details
Born
Luther Wallace Youngdahl

(1896-05-29)May 29, 1896
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedJune 21, 1978(1978-06-21) (aged 82)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting placeArlington National Cemetery
Political partyRepublican
RelativesOscar Youngdahl (brother)
EducationGustavus Adolphus College (B.A.)
Mitchell Hamline School of Law (LL.B.)

Luther Wallace Youngdahl (May 29, 1896 – June 21, 1978) was an American judge and politician who served as the 27th governor of Minnesota and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Education and career

Born on May 29, 1896, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Youngdahl graduated from Minneapolis South High School. He then received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1919 from Gustavus Adolphus College and a Bachelor of Laws in 1921 from the Minnesota College of Law (now Mitchell Hamline School of Law). He served as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army during World War I. He was an assistant city attorney for Minneapolis from 1921 to 1924 and in private practice from 1924 to 1930. He was a judge of the Minneapolis Municipal Court from 1930 to 1936 and of the Minnesota District Court for the Fourth Judicial District from 1936 to 1942. He was an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court from 1942 to 1946. A member of the Republican Party, he was the governor of Minnesota from January 8, 1947, to September 27, 1951.[1]

Federal judicial service

Youngdahl was a popular governor who won reelection easily in 1950, but as early as 1949 he expressed to a friend his desire to return to the judiciary, this time at the federal level. Believing that Youngdahl would be the strongest candidate the Republicans could run against him when he sought reelection in 1954, upon learning of Judge Thomas Alan Goldsborough's death from a heart attack, Minnesota's junior U.S. senator, Hubert Humphrey, proposed nominating Youngdahl to Goldsborough's now-vacant seat on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in a meeting with President Harry S. Truman on July 2, 1951. Noting that Youngdahl was the only governor who had written a letter commending him for his recent decision to fire General Douglas MacArthur, Truman agreed to the suggestion.[2]

After meeting with Youngdahl on July 5, Truman appointed him the next day to the vacancy on the D.C. district court. The United States Senate confirmed Youngdahl on August 28, 1951, and he received his commission the next day. He assumed senior status on May 29, 1966.[1] His service ended on June 21, 1978, upon his death in Washington, D.C.[3] He was interred in Arlington National Cemetery.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Youngdahl, Luther Wallace – Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
  2. ^ Solberg, Carl (1984). Hubert Humphrey: A Biography. W. W. Norton and Company. p. 151-2. ISBN 0-393-01806-7.
  3. ^ "Judge Luther Youngdahl, Ex-Governor of Minnesota, Dies", The Washington Post, June 22, 1978
  4. ^ ANC Explorer

Further reading

Party political offices Preceded byEdward John Thye Republican nominee for Governor of Minnesota 1946, 1948, 1950 Succeeded byC. Elmer Anderson Political offices Preceded byEdward John Thye 27th Governor of Minnesota 1947–1951 Succeeded byC. Elmer Anderson Legal offices Preceded byThomas Alan Goldsborough Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia 1951–1966 Succeeded byJohn Lewis Smith Jr.
Categories