Bjornson, Gunnar B.
House 1913-14 (District 17); House 1915-16 (District 13)
Party when first elected: Republican
Counties Served:
Lyon
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Date of Birth:
8/17/1872
Birth Place:
,
Birth County:
Birth Country:
Iceland
Date of Death:
9/15/1957
Gender:
Male
Religion:
Lutheran
Reported Minority: None Reported
Other Names:
City of Residence (when first elected):
Minneota
Occupation (when first elected):
Newspaper Editor and Publisher, The Minneota Mascot
EDUCATION
Quincy Common Schools, Illinois; Attended College; Business
Studied Law;
OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE
Postmaster:
Minneota (Appointed by President Roosevelt);
? to 1912
School Board/Administration:
Minneota, Minnesota (School Board; 24 years);
[Dates Unknown]
State Board/Commission/Council:
State Tax Commission;
1925 to 1935
[Appointed]
State Board/Commission/Council:
Minnesota Board of Tax Appeals (Chairman);
1939 to 1955
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Spouse:
Ingibjorg Augustine Hurdal (married in 1903)
Children:
Six children: Valdimar, Hjalmar, Bjorn, Helga, Stefania, Jon
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:
GENERAL NOTES
He came to America when he was four years old.
He was a member of the Republican Party.
He died in Hennepin County, Minnesota and is buried in Saint Paul's Lutheran Cemetery, Minneota, Lyon County, Minnesota.
Religion provided by a relative and his obituary. He was a member of the Icelandic Lutheran Synod.
Elected:
11/3/1914
Residence:
Minneota
Term of Office:
1/4/1915 to 12/31/1916
Counties Represented:
Lyon
Occupation:
Newspaper Editor and Publisher, The Minneota Mascot
Party:
Nonpartisan Election
Party Notes: He was "at first a prominent candidate of the progressives for speaker, but withdrew in favor of Gordon…" (Buell, C.J. The Minnesota Legislature of 1915, p. 94)
Committees:
-
Compensation of Public Officials
-
Drainage
-
Education
-
Elections (Chair)
-
Insurance
-
Towns and Counties
Elected:
11/5/1912
Residence:
Minneota
Term of Office:
1/6/1913 to 1/3/1915
Counties Represented:
Lyon
Occupation:
Newspaper Editor and Publisher, The Minneota Mascot
Party:
Republican
Committees:
-
Education
-
Insurance
-
Printing (Chair)
-
Telephone and Telegraph
-
Villages
Articles & Books About
-
"Reporting from the Floor of the House." Session Weekly, St. Paul: Minnesota House of Representatives Information Office, February 19, 1999, p. 4.
- This article lists his death year as 1959, all other sources checked list 1957.
-
"Gunnar B. Bjornson." Star Tribune, September 17, 1957, p. 4.
-
"Bjornson, Icelandic Leader, Dies." Star Tribune, September 16, 1957, p. 1.
-
"G. B. Bjornson Dies; Former Publisher." Minneapolis Star, September, 16, 1957, p. 9.
These files are available in the Legislative Reference Library.
Photographs