Luther Youngdahl

Luther Wallace Youngdahl (May 29, 1896 – June 21, 1978) was the 27th Governor of Minnesota and a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Born on May 29, 1896, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Youngdahl received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1919 from Gustavus Adolphus College and a Bachelor of Laws in 1921 from the Minnesota College of Law (now Mitchell Hamline School of Law). He served as a Second Lietenant in the United States Army during World War I. He was an assistant city attorney for Minneapolis from 1921 to 1924. He was in private practice in Minneapolis from 1924 to 1930. He was a Judge of the Minneapolis Municipal Court from 1930 to 1936. He was a Judge of the Minnesota District Court for the Fourth Judicial District from 1936 to 1942. He was an Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court from 1942 to 1946. He was the 27th Governor of Minnesota from January 8, 1947 to September 27, 1951. He was a member of the Republican Party.

Youngdahl was nominated by President Harry S. Truman on July 6, 1951, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia vacated by Judge Thomas Alan Goldsborough. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 28, 1951, and received his commission on August 29, 1951. He assumed senior status on May 29, 1966. His service terminated on June 21, 1978, due to his death in Washington, D.C. He was interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

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Youngdahl later said of his judgeship: "Hubert was exuberant and happy. He was pleased that I could get to serve on the federal bench, and undoubtedly he was somewhat relieved that I would not be around to run against him" for the United States Senate in the 1954 election.

• Luther W. Youngdahl papers

• Esbjornson, Robert A Christian in Politics: Luther W. Youngdahl (1955)