Carl Donald Peterson (February 2, 1918 – December 19, 1987) was an American jurist and politician. Born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, Peterson received his bachelor's degree from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

and his law degree from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. He served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

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 ...

and as a judge advocate in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

stationed in Japan during the Korea War. Peterson served in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

from 1959 to 1963 and was a Republican. Peterson served on the

Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court was first assemb ...

for 19 years, from 1967 until 1987. Peterson died of cancer in

Edina, Minnesota Edina ( , ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 53,494 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the 18th most populous ci ...

on December 19, 1987. His brother

P. Kenneth Peterson Paul Kenneth Peterson (April 13, 1915 – December 31, 1993) was an American lawyer, insurance broker and Republican politician who served as mayor of Minneapolis from 1957 to 1961. Life and career Peterson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesot ...

also served in the

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decenn ...

and as mayor of Minneapolis, while his daughter

Barbara Peterson Barbara Elaine Peterson Burwell (née Peterson; born November 25, 1953) is an American philanthropist and beauty pageant titleholder. After being crowned Miss Minnesota USA 1976, she competed at Miss USA 1976, becoming the first woman from Minn ...

was crowned

Miss USA 1976 Miss USA 1976 was the 25th Miss USA pageant, televised live by CBS from Niagara Falls, New York, on May 15, 1976. The pageant was won by Barbara Peterson of Minnesota, who succeeded outgoing titleholder Summer Bartholomew of California. Peter ...

Notes

1918 births 1987 deaths Politicians from Minneapolis University of Illinois alumni University of Minnesota alumni United States Army Air Forces pilots Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 20th-century American judges Lawyers from Minneapolis Military personnel from Minneapolis Deaths from cancer in Minnesota 20th-century American lawyers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature {{Minnesota-MNRepresentative-Republican-stub