Carl Gunderson (June 20, 1864February 26, 1933)''Biographical Directory of the South Dakota Legislature, 1889–1989'' (1989), p. 400 was an American politician who served as the 11th Governor of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. Gunderson, a Republican from

Mitchell, South Dakota Mitchell is a city in and the county seat of Davison County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,660 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census making it the List of cities in South Dakota, sixth most populous city in South Dako ...

, served from 1925 to 1927.

Biography

Gunderson was born in a log cabin in

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

in the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

, near Vermillion. As a young man, he filed a claim on a homestead in

that remained dear to him all his life. He stated that his occupation was a farmer all his life. He attended the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is t ...

and

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. He went into the mercantile business in Vermillion. He married Gertrude Bertleson and they had four children.

Career

Gunderson served five terms in the state senate of the

South Dakota Legislature The South Dakota Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of South Dakota. It is a bicameral legislative body, consisting of the South Dakota Senate, which has 35 members, and the South Dakota House of Representatives, which has 7 ...

, being elected in 1892, 1896, 1898, 1900, and again in 1916. Gunderson served as president pro tempore of the senate in the 1899 session and served as the 13th

Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, security services and police forces. The rank i ...

from 1921 to 1925 under Governor William H. McMaster. In

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

, when McMaster declined to seek re-election, Gunderson successfully ran to succeed him. He defeated the Democratic nominee, William J. Bulow, in a landslide. In

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

, however, Gunderson narrowly lost to Bulow in a rematch of the 1924 election. He ran for Governor again in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

. In the Republican primary, no candidate received 35% of the vote, and under state law, the nomination had to be decided by a convention of the state Republican Party. Despite placing second in the primary, Gunderson fared poorly in the convention; his support collapsed quickly and he faded from contention after the first few ballots. In

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

, Gunderson challenged Republican Governor Warren Green for renomination, but lost the Republican primary in a landslide.

Death

After his defeat he returned to his home in Mitchell until his death on February 26, 1933.Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978
/ref> He was buried on the tract of land that he had homesteaded, Bluff View Cemetery, Vermillion, Clay County, South Dakota US.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunderson, Carl 1864 births 1933 deaths Republican Party governors of South Dakota Lieutenant governors of South Dakota Republican Party South Dakota state senators American people of Norwegian descent People from Vermillion, South Dakota People from Dakota Territory 19th-century members of the South Dakota Legislature 20th-century members of the South Dakota Legislature