Peter Christian Zimmerman (August 17, 1887 – October 28, 1950) was an American politician from the state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Biography

Zimmerman was born in 1887 to Christian Zimmerman and Louisa Sophia Nolteon and raised on a farm near

Yamhill, Oregon Yamhill is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. Located in the northern part of the county, it is situated at the intersection of Oregon Route 47 and Oregon Route 240. The population was 1,147 at the 2020 census. Originally named N ...

. At the age of 15, he left home and apprenticed as a blacksmith. He continued his secondary education while working as a blacksmith and later graduated in engineering from

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

. At the age of 22, Zimmerman purchased a small farm near Yamhill in 1919. Zimmerman ran for the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the State legislature (United States), statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Ther ...

in 1922, defeating incumbent William T. Vinton in the Republican primary. He served until 1927, and was elected again in 1932, serving until 1937. In

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

, Zimmerman ran for

Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

. Although he was defeated in the Republican primary by fellow state senator Joe E. Dunne, he was urged to run as an independent by farm groups. Zimmerman lost the general election to Democrat Charles Martin, receiving 32% of the vote and coming in second place, winning eight counties. Zimmerman and his wife, Ethel F. Patey, had one daughter, Carolyn; she married Ben Larson. He died of throat cancer in 1950, aged 63.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmerman, Peter 1887 births 1950 deaths Oregon independents Oregon Republicans Oregon state senators Oregon State University alumni People from Yamhill, Oregon Deaths from throat cancer 20th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly