Floyd B. Olson
| Floyd B. Olson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 22nd Governor of Minnesota | |
|
In office January 6, 1931 – August 22, 1936 |
|
| Lieutenant |
Henry M. Arens Konrad K. Solberg Hjalmar Petersen |
| Preceded by | Theodore Christianson |
| Succeeded by | Hjalmar Petersen |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 13, 1891 Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Died | August 22, 1936 (aged 44) Rochester, Minnesota |
| Political party | Farmer-Labor |
| Spouse(s) | Ada Krejci Olson |
| Children | Patricia |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Lutheran |
Floyd Bjørnstjerne Olson (November 13, 1891 – August 22, 1936) was an American politician. He served as the 22nd Governor of Minnesota from January 6, 1931, to August 22, 1936, dying in office of stomach cancer. Olson was a member of the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, and the first member of that party to win the office of governor. He is consistently considered one of the greatest governors in Minnesota history and one of the most influential American politicians of his era.
Floyd B. Olson was born on the north side of Minneapolis, Minnesota, the only child of a Norwegian father and a Swedish mother. The North Side neighborhood where Olson grew up was the home of a sizable Orthodox Jewish community, and Olson's friendships with some of the local Jewish families led him to serve as a shabbos goy, assisting Jews on the Sabbath by performing actions they were not permitted to do. Olson picked up Yiddish from his childhood associations with his Jewish neighbors and years later spoke the language fluently while campaigning in Jewish communities, in addition to having several Jews serve him in advisory roles while in elected office.
After graduating from North High School in Minneapolis in 1909, Olson went to work for the Northern Pacific Railway. The next year, he enrolled at the University of Minnesota, but he left after only a year, during which he was constantly in trouble for wearing a derby in violation of school rules and for refusing to participate in required ROTC drills.
Heading west, Olson worked a series of odd jobs in Canada and Alaska before settling briefly in Seattle, Washington, where he became a stevedore and joined the Industrial Workers of the World. During this time, Olson read widely and began to adopt a populist, semi-socialist philosophy he would retain for the rest of his life.
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