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    Langdon, Robert Bruce "R.B."

    Sessions Served    Other Information

    Senate 1873-78 (District 27); Senate 1881-82 (District 27); Senate 1883-86 (District 30)

    Party when first elected:  Republican

    Counties Served:  Hennepin

    BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

    Date of Birth: 11/24/1826
    Birth Place: New Haven, Vermont
    Birth County:
    Birth Country: United States
    Date of Death: 7/24/1895
    Gender: Male
    Religion: Episcopalian
    Reported Minority: None Reported
    Other Names: R.B.
    City of Residence (when first elected): Minneapolis
    Occupation (when first elected): Contractor; Built Buildings, Roads, Bridges, and Railways

    EDUCATION

    Vermont District Schools; Elementary School;
    Academic Education; Secondary;

    OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE

    FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

    Spouse: Sarah Smith (married in 1859)
    Children: Three children: Cavour S. (son), Mrs. H.C. Truesdale, and Mrs. W.F. Brooks (daughters)
    Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:

    GENERAL NOTES

    His middle initial is listed as B. in all sources except the Minnesota Legislative Manual, 1873 where it is listed as both B. and V.

    He was of English ancestry.

    He was born on a farm near New Haven, Vermont. In the late 1840s and early 1850s he lived in Ohio and Wisconsin. He came to St. Paul, Minnesota in 1858. He moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1865 or 1866.

    He ran unsuccessfully for the Minnesota Senate in the 1888 election. He was defeated by only a few votes.

    "In the days of the Whig party he was an old liner, but when that light went out, he found his affinity in the Republican fold." (Biographical Sketches of the Officers of the State Government of Minnesota and of the 19th Minnesota State Legislature by C.L. Hall, 1877, p. 17)

    "He was connected with the Republican party all his life." (Progressive Men of Minnesota, 1897, p. 425)

    He was listed as a Republican on the list of members posted after the 1877 election. ("The Next Legislature." St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 10, 1877)

    He built the first Washburn mill and many other important buildings in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Biographical Sketches of the Officers of the State Government of Minnesota and of the 19th Minnesota State Legislature by C.L. Hall, 1877, p. 16)

    Langdon, North Dakota and Langdon, Minnesota were named after him.

    He was a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church.

    Religion provided by Progressive Men of Minnesota, 1897, p. 426.

    Total Days Served: 4382

    SESSIONS SERVED

    24th Legislative Session (1885-1886) (second half of Senate term)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 30
    Elected: 11/7/1882
    Residence: Minneapolis
    Term of Office: 1/2/1883 to 1/3/1887
    Counties Represented: Hennepin
    Occupation: Contractor
    Party: Not Available
    Committees:
    • Deaf, Dumb and Blind (Chair)
    • Elections
    • Railroads
    • Retrenchment and Reform

    23rd Legislative Session (1883-1884)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 30
    Elected: 11/7/1882
    Residence: Minneapolis
    Term of Office: 1/2/1883 to 1/3/1887
    Counties Represented: Hennepin
    Occupation: Contractor
    Party: Not Available
    Committees:
    • Deaf, Dumb and Blind (Chair)
    • Elections
    • Railroads
    • Retrenchment and Reform

    22nd Legislative Session (1881-1882)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 27
    Elected: 11/2/1880
    Residence: Minneapolis
    Term of Office: 1/4/1881 to 1/1/1883
    Counties Represented: Hennepin
    Occupation: Contractor
    Party: Not Available
    Committees:
    • Deaf, Dumb and Blind (Chair)
    • Elections
    • Railroads
    • State Prison

    20th Legislative Session (1878)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 27
    Elected: 11/7/1876
    Residence: Minneapolis
    Term of Office: 1/2/1877 to 1/6/1879
    Counties Represented: Hennepin
    Occupation: Contractor
    Party: Republican Party Notes: "In the days of the Whig party he was an old liner, but when that light went out, he found his affinity in the Republican fold." (Biographical Sketches of the Officers of the State Government of Minnesota and of the 19th Minnesota State Legislature by C.L. Hall, 1877, p. 17); He was listed as a Republican on the list of members posted after the 1877 election. ("The Next Legislature." St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 10, 1877)
    Committees:
    • Immigration (Chair)
    • Railroads
    • Roads and Bridges (Chair)

    19th Legislative Session (1877)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 27
    Elected: 11/7/1876
    Residence: Minneapolis
    Term of Office: 1/2/1877 to 1/6/1879
    Counties Represented: Hennepin
    Occupation: Contractor; Built Buildings, Roads, Bridges, and Railways/Vice President, Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad/Vice President, National Exchange Bank, Minneapolis
    Party: Republican Party Notes: "In the days of the Whig party he was an old liner, but when that light went out, he found his affinity in the Republican fold." (Biographical Sketches of the Officers of the State Government of Minnesota and of the 19th Minnesota State Legislature by C.L. Hall, 1877, p. 17); He was listed as a Republican on the list of members posted after the 1877 election. ("The Next Legislature." St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 10, 1877)
    Committees:
    • Joint Taxes and Tax Laws
    • State Prison (Chair)

    18th Legislative Session (1876)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 27
    Elected: 11/3/1874
    Residence: Minneapolis
    Term of Office: 1/5/1875 to 1/1/1877
    Counties Represented: Hennepin
    Occupation: Contractor
    Party: Republican Party Notes: "In the days of the Whig party he was an old liner, but when that light went out, he found his affinity in the Republican fold." (Biographical Sketches of the Officers of the State Government of Minnesota and of the 19th Minnesota State Legislature by C.L. Hall, 1877, p. 17)
    Committees:
    • Corporations
    • Immigration
    • Retrenchment and Reform
    • State Prison (Chair)

    17th Legislative Session (1875)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 27
    Elected: 11/3/1874
    Residence: Minneapolis
    Term of Office: 1/5/1875 to 1/1/1877
    Counties Represented: Hennepin
    Occupation: Contractor
    Party: Republican Party Notes: "In the days of the Whig party he was an old liner, but when that light went out, he found his affinity in the Republican fold." (Biographical Sketches of the Officers of the State Government of Minnesota and of the 19th Minnesota State Legislature by C.L. Hall, 1877, p. 17)
    Committees:
    • Corporations
    • Immigration
    • Retrenchment and Reform
    • State Prison (Chair)

    16th Legislative Session (1874)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 27
    Elected: 11/5/1872
    Residence: Minneapolis
    Term of Office: 1/7/1873 to 1/4/1875
    Counties Represented: Hennepin
    Occupation: Contractor
    Party: Republican Party Notes: "In the days of the Whig party he was an old liner, but when that light went out, he found his affinity in the Republican fold." (Biographical Sketches of the Officers of the State Government of Minnesota and of the 19th Minnesota State Legislature by C.L. Hall, 1877, p. 17)
    Committees:
    • Corporations
    • Immigration
    • Retrenchment
    • State Prison (Chair)

    15th Legislative Session (1873)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 27
    Elected: 11/5/1872
    Residence: Minneapolis
    Term of Office: 1/7/1873 to 1/4/1875
    Counties Represented: Hennepin
    Occupation: Contractor; Built Buildings, Roads, Bridges, and Railways
    Party: Republican Party Notes: "In the days of the Whig party he was an old liner, but when that light went out, he found his affinity in the Republican fold." (Biographical Sketches of the Officers of the State Government of Minnesota and of the 19th Minnesota State Legislature by C.L. Hall, 1877, p. 17)
    Committees:
    • Claims
    • Public Buildings
    • Retrenchment (Chair)

    OTHER INFORMATION

    Articles & Books About
    Shutter, Marion Daniel. "Robert Bruce Langdon." Progressive Men of Minnesota, Minneapolis: The Minneapolis Journal, 1897, p. 424-426.

    "Hon. R.B. Langdon." Memoirs of the State Officers; and of the Nineteenth Legislature of Minnesota, by C.L. Hall. Minneapolis: Johnson & Smith, p. 16-17.

    "Langdon, R.B." The Fifteenth Legislature of Minnesota. St. Paul: Press Printing Company, 1873, p. 9.

    "Washington County - Langdon." Minnesota Place Names (Electronic Resource), St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society.


    These files are available in the Legislative Reference Library.

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