Peter Norbeck

Peter Norbeck
9th Governor of South Dakota
In office 1917–1921
Lieutenant	William H. McMaster
Preceded by	Frank M. Byrne
Succeeded by	William H. McMaster
Personal details
Born	(1870-08-27)August 27, 1870 Clay County, South Dakota
Died	December 20, 1936(1936-12-20) (aged 66) Redfield, South Dakota
Political party	Republican
Religion	Lutheranism

Peter Norbeck (August 27, 1870 – December 20, 1936) served as the ninth Governor of South Dakota, and as a United States Senator. Norbeck was the first native-born Governor of South Dakota to serve in office.

Biography

Peter Norbeck was the oldest of six children born to immigrants George (born in Jämtland, Sweden) and Karen (Larsen) Norbeck, who was Norwegian. At the time of Peter's birth, his family was living in a dugout on the family's 160 acres (0.65 km²), located eight miles (13 km) northeast of Vermillion, Dakota Territory. He attended the public schools and the University of South Dakota at Vermillion. In 1895 he was a contractor and driller of deep water, oil, and gas wells. He moved to Redfield, South Dakota in 1900 and added agricultural pursuits.

In June, 1901 he married Lydia Theresa Anderson and they had two daughters, Nellie and Ruth; and two sons, Harold and Selmer.

Career

On May 9, 1908, Peter Norbeck ran for the South Dakota State Senate from Spink County. After being elected to the first of three terms, he joined Coe Crawford's inner circle of Progressives. In 1914, Norbeck reluctantly accepted Governor Frank Byrne's invitation to run for Lieutenant Governor on the Republican ticket; they ended up winning.

In 1916, Norbeck beat Democratic candidate W.T. Rinehart and became the ninth Governor of South Dakota, serving in that office from 1917 to 1921.

In 1920, Norbeck was easily elected United States Senator. He won the election with 50% of the vote, running against a Democrat and two fairly strong independent candidates; the Democrat finished third. Norbeck was re-elected to the Senate in 1926 and 1932. Norbeck made a number of contributions to South Dakota's tourism industry. He encouraged the development of the Iron Mountain Road in the Black Hills. He brought sculptor Gutzon Borglum to South Dakota and convinced presidents Calvin Coolidge and Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide federal money for the carving of Mount Rushmore. Norbeck also pushed for the development of Sylvan Lake, Needles Highway, Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, and the Game Sanctuary in the Black Hills.

As outgoing Republican chairman during the last months of the Herbert Hoover presidency, Norbeck appointed Ferdinand Pecora as Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate's Committee on Banking and Currency. The Committee investigated the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

Death

Norbeck died of cancer in Redfield, South Dakota during his third term as United States Senator in 1936. He is interred at Bloomington Church Cemetery, Platte, South Dakota.

External links

• Peter Norbeck at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Entry for Peter Norbeck at the Weekly South Dakotan website
• Entry for Peter Norbeck at the South Dakota State Historical Society website
• Entry for Peter Norbeck at Infoplease.com
• Burial record for Peter Norbeck at Findagrave.com
• National Governors Association
• Soylent Communications

Political offices
Preceded by E. L. Abel	Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota 1915–1917	Succeeded by William H. McMaster
Preceded by Frank M. Byrne	Governor of South Dakota 1917–1921	Succeeded by William H. McMaster
United States Senate
Preceded by Edwin S. Johnson	United States Senator (Class 3) from South Dakota 1921–1936 Served alongside: Thomas Sterling, William H. McMaster, William J. Bulow	Succeeded by Herbert E. Hitchcock