Knute Nelson
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Knute Nelson (February 2, 1843–April 28, 1923) was an American politician. Nelson was born in Voss, Norway and immigrated to the United States in 1849. He was a US Representative, US Senator and Governor of Minnesota. Nelson also served in the US Army during the American Civil War. He also had been a member of the Wisconsin assembly and Minnesota State Senate. He served in the United States House of Representatives from March 3, 1883 to March 3, 1889. He was elected the 12th Governor of Minnesota in 1892 and reelected in 1894, and served until January 31, 1895, when he resigned, preparatory to becoming Senator. He was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1895. While in the Senate, he was involved in the creation of the Department of Commerce and Labor, and the passage of the Nelson Bankruptcy Act in 1898. He served in the Senate until his death in 1923.
| Preceded by: William Rush Merriam | Governor of Minnesota 1893 – 1895 | Succeeded by: David Marston Clough |
| Preceded by: William D. Washburn | U.S. Senator from Minnesota 1896 – 1923 | Succeeded by: Magnus Johnson |