George Jonathan Danforth (November 21, 1875 – March 30, 1952) was a member of the

South Dakota Senate The South Dakota Senate is the upper house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 35 members, one representing each legislative district. It meets at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. Composition :''99th Legislature (2025)' ...

Early life

George Jonathan Danforth was born on November 21, 1875, in Meeme, Wisconsin, to Quincy A. and Gertrude ( Silbernagel) Danforth. He attended the

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

and the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. In 1903, he moved to

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

Career

Danforth was a member of the Senate from 1919 to 1922. Previously, he had been State's Attorney of

Minnehaha County, South Dakota Minnehaha County is a County (United States), county on the eastern border of the U.S. state, state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 197,214, making it the state's List of counties in South D ...

. In 1930 and 1938, Danforth was a candidate in the Republican primary for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. He lost to incumbent

William H. McMaster William Henry McMaster (May 10, 1877September 14, 1968) was an American politician who served as the tenth Governor of South Dakota from 1921 until 1925. A member of the Republican Party, he went on to serve as a member of the United States S ...

in 1930 and to

John Chandler Gurney John Chandler "Chan" Gurney (May 21, 1896March 9, 1985) was an American businessman and politician from South Dakota. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as a U.S. Senator from 1939 to 1951. Early life Gurney was born in Yankton, ...

in 1938.

Death

Danforth died on March 30, 1952. He was buried in

Woodlawn Cemetery Woodlawn Cemetery is the name of several cemeteries, including: Canada * Woodlawn Cemetery (Saskatoon) * Woodlawn Cemetery (Nova Scotia) United States ''(by state then city or town)'' * Woodlawn Cemetery (Ocala, Florida), where Isaac Rice and fa ...

Personal life

On August 21, 1907, Danforth married Nora I. Tollefson. He was a Congregationalist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danforth, George People from Meeme, Wisconsin Politicians from Sioux Falls, South Dakota Republican Party South Dakota state senators South Dakota lawyers University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni 1875 births 1952 deaths 20th-century members of the South Dakota Legislature