Monrad Charles Wallgren (April 17, 1891September 18, 1961) was an American politician who served as the 13th governor of Washington from 1945 to 1949, as well as representing that state in the

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

and 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 ...

. Wallgren, of Swedish descent, was born in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

in 1891. His family moved to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

in 1894 and then to

Everett, Washington Everett (; ) is the county seat and most populous city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the Seattle metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett ...

in 1901. He attended public schools and business college in Everett, graduating from the Washington State School of Optometry in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

in 1914. He worked in retail

jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

and

optometry Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...

from 1915 to 1932, as well as serving in the Washington

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

from 1917 to 1919 and 1921 to 1922. He was an outstanding player of

carom billiards Carom billiards, also called French billiards and sometimes carambole billiards, is the overarching title of a family of cue sports generally played on cloth-covered, billiard tables. In its simplest form, the object of the game is to score ...

. In 1932, Wallgren ran for election to the

as a Democrat. He defeated incumbent Republican Albert Johnson, and took office in the

73rd United States Congress The 73rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1933, ...

on March 4, 1933. Near the end of his fourth term in 1940, Wallgren ran for

to replace fellow Democrat Lewis B. Schwellenbach, who was retiring to accept a judicial nomination. Wallgren won the election, and was also appointed to finish the rest of Schwellenbach's term. He took office on December 19, 1940. While Wallgren served portions of two different terms (the end of Schwellenbach's and the one that Wallgren was elected to), he served less than 6 years in the Senate. In 1944, he successfully ran for

Governor of Washington The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.WA Const. art. III, § 2. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws,WA Const. art. III, § 5. the power to either ...

against incumbent Republican Arthur B. Langlie, resigning from the Senate on January 9, 1945 to serve as governor from then until 1949. He was defeated for re-election as governor by Langlie in 1948, and was nominated by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

as the chairman of the National Security Resources Board. That nomination was later withdrawn, and Wallgren served as chairman of the

Federal Power Commission The Federal Power Commission (FPC) was an independent commission of the United States government, originally organized on June 23, 1930, with five members nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The FPC was originally created in ...

in 1950 and 1951. He then retired from public service. In 1961, Wallgren died of complications resulting from a traffic accident.Mon Wallgren, former Washington Governor, dies
/ref>

References

External links

Wallgren, Monrad Charles
at HistoryLink
Congressional biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallgren, Monrad Charles 1891 births 1961 deaths Politicians from Des Moines, Iowa American people of Swedish descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state) Democratic Party United States senators from Washington (state) Democratic Party governors of Washington (state) Politicians from Everett, Washington Politicians from Spokane, Washington Chairmen of the Federal Power Commission American carom billiards players Three-cushion billiards players American optometrists Road incident deaths in Washington (state) Truman administration personnel 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives