Byron C. Ostby (August 17, 1924 – April 28, 2003) was elected a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

at the age of 24, while still in law school.

Biography

Ostby was born on August 17, 1924, in

Superior, Wisconsin Superior (; ) is a city in Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 26,751 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the western end of Lake Superior in northwestern Wisconsin, the city l ...

, son of Brynjulf Ostby and Ingeborg C. (Lerann) Ostby. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. Ostby then received his bachelor and law degrees from

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

and then practiced law. He served as honorary consul for Norway and was executive of the Wisconsin Railroad Association. As Honorary Consul to Norway, he was knighted by the king of Norway for his service. His parents (Brynjulf and Ingeborg) were also knighted by King Haakon. He married Helen Wear September 8, 1951, and had three children, Helen Signe Ostby, David Joel Ostby, and Laurie Ostby Kehler. He died in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

Political career

Ostby, a Republican, was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from Douglas County 1st District, 1949 to 1951.

References

Politicians from Superior, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Businesspeople from Wisconsin Wisconsin lawyers Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Military personnel from Wisconsin United States Navy sailors United States Navy personnel of World War II 1924 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-Republican-1920s-stub