Luther Youngdahl
| Luther Wallace Youngdahl | |
|---|---|
Youngdahl in 1949
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| Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia | |
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In office August 29, 1951 – May 29, 1966 |
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| Appointed by | Harry S. Truman |
| Preceded by | Thomas Alan Goldsborough |
| Succeeded by | John Lewis Smith, Jr. |
| 27th Governor of Minnesota | |
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In office January 8, 1947 – September 27, 1951 |
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| Lieutenant | C. Elmer Anderson |
| Preceded by | Edward John Thye |
| Succeeded by | C. Elmer Anderson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 29, 1896 Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Died | June 21, 1978 (aged 82) Washington, D.C. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Irene Annet Engdahl |
| Alma mater |
Gustavus Adolphus College William Mitchell College of Law |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Lutheran |
Luther Wallace Youngdahl (May 29, 1896 – June 21, 1978) was an American politician and judge from Minnesota. He served as an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court from 1942 to 1946, then as Minnesota's 27th Governor from January 8, 1947 to September 27, 1951, and finally as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from 1951 until 1966. He died in 1978.
One of ten children of a Minneapolis grocer, Youngdahl was a promising student at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, where he excelled in athletics and oratory and was active in campus government. Afterward, he attended William Mitchell College of Law (then the Minnesota College of Law). In 1930 Governor Theodore Christianson appointed the young lawyer to a municipal judgeship, the first of several judiciary positions he would hold before and after governing the state.
Politically, he was determined to rid the state of its pernicious gambling problem and he began, during the first of his three gubernatorial terms, by outlawing slot machines. Soon after dealing a sharp blow to racketeering, Youngdahl launched his "humanity in government" program. Appalled by the conditions of state mental hospitals, Youngdahl introduced a more humane concept of care. His sincere efforts to improve the lot of troubled youth, enhance public education, and give returning World War II veterans a financial boost earned this Republican administrator bipartisan respect and support. So popular was Youngdahl that he won each successive gubernatorial election by an ever-larger margin. That some conservatives found him "too liberal" didn't diminish his appeal or effectiveness.
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