James Ole Davidson (February 10, 1854December 16, 1922) was a

Norwegian American Norwegian Americans () are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 milli ...

immigrant, tailor, merchant, and progressive Republican politician from

Crawford County, Wisconsin Crawford County is a county in the southwest part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,113. Its county seat is Prairie du Chien. History Along with Brown County, Crawford County is one of Wisconsin ...

. He was the 21st

governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...

, serving from 1906 to 1911; he was initially elected as lieutenant governor under governor Robert M. La Follette, and ascended to the gubernatorial office after La Follette resigned, but then won two full terms as governor in the 1906 and 1908 elections. Before becoming lieutenant governor, Davidson served as the 13th

state treasurer of Wisconsin The state treasurer of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of Wisconsin, government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Thirty-six individuals have held the office since statehood. The incumbent is John Le ...

from 1899 to 1903, and represented Crawford County in 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 ...

from 1893 to 1899.

Early life

Davidson was born in

Årdal Årdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located at the end of the Årdalsfjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The village of Årdalstangen is ...

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; literally "Parish and the Fjords") was a Counties of Norway, county in western Norway, from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, after it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsda ...

County,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and emigrated in 1872 to the United States when he was 18 years old. In

Boscobel, Wisconsin Boscobel ( ) is a city in Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,286 at the 2020 census. Approximately 0.6 mi. (1 km) to the north of the city, across a riparian swamp, is the Wisconsin River. U.S. Route 61 cross ...

he worked as a farmhand and as a tailor. Davidson began a successful mercantile business and established his own

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

business in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin.

Political career

He held several political positions in Wisconsin, and was twice elected village president in Soldiers Grove. Davidson was also elected as a Republican candidate to the

, serving three terms from 1893 to 1899. He was elected Wisconsin state treasurer in 1898 and 1900. In 1902, Davidson was elected the 19th

Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin The lieutenant governor of Wisconsin is the first person in the Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Wisconsin, line of succession of Wisconsin's executive branch, thus serving as governor in the event of the death, resignation, ...

alongside governor Robert M. "Fighting Bob" La Follette. Davidson and La Follette were re-elected in 1904, and in early 1905 La Follette was elected United States senator. La Follette delayed accepting the new office, overseeing a productive session of progressive legislation in the

47th Wisconsin Legislature The Forty-Seventh Wisconsin Legislature convened from to in regular session, and re-convened for a special session from , through . During this term, legislative business was largely held in the north wing of the Wisconsin State Capitol, whi ...

before resigning on January 1, 1906. At that time, Davidson ascended to the office and became the 21st

. He was then elected governor in 1906 and reelected in 1908. He served from January 4, 1906, to January 3, 1911; and during his tenure, state regulation of the railroads was extended to include public utilities, telegraph, telephone, electricity, water companies, and the insurance industry. After retiring from office, he was appointed by his gubernatorial successor to a five-year term as president of the State Board of Control.

Death

Davidson 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 ...

, on December 16, 1922, due to

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

and

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

complications. He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

at Madison's historic Forest Hill Cemetery.

Family life

Davidson was the son of Ole Davidson and Ingabor (Jenson) Davidson. On February 19, 1883, Davidson married Helen Bliss and they had two daughters, Mabel Elsie and Grace.

References

External links