George Theodore Mickelson
George Theodore Mickelson | |
---|---|
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota | |
In office 1954–1965 | |
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota | |
In office December 9, 1953 – February 28, 1965 | |
Appointed by | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
Preceded by | Seat established by 65 Stat. 710 |
Succeeded by | Fred Joseph Nichol |
18th Governor of South Dakota | |
In office January 7, 1947 – January 2, 1951 | |
Lieutenant | Sioux K. Grigsby Rex A. Terry |
Preceded by | Merrill Q. Sharpe |
Succeeded by | Sigurd Anderson |
Attorney General of South Dakota | |
In office 1943–1947 | |
Governor | Merrell Q. Sharpe |
Preceded by | Leo A. Temmey |
Succeeded by | Sigurd Anderson |
Personal details | |
Born | George Theodore Mickelson July 23, 1903 Selby, South Dakota |
Died | February 28, 1965 | (aged 61)
Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery Sioux Falls, South Dakota |
Political party | Republican |
Children | George S. Mickelson |
Education | University of South Dakota School of Law (LL.B.) |
George Theodore Mickelson (July 23, 1903 – February 28, 1965) was an American attorney, 16th Attorney General and 18th Governor of South Dakota, and Chief Judge of United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. He is the patriarch of the prominent Mickelson family of South Dakota.
Early life and education
George T. Mickelson was born near Selby in Walworth County, South Dakota. His father was a Norwegian immigrant.[1] Mickelson was the first Governor of South Dakota to be born in the twentieth century. Mickelson attended Dakota Wesleyan University and then received an LL.B. from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1927.[2] He did not take the bar exam as he was admitted to the South Dakota bar under the state's diploma privilege. That year he returned to Selby to practice law. He married Madge Turner and they had four children.
Career
Prior to serving as governor, Mickelson, a Republican, served as states attorney for Walworth County, South Dakota from 1933 to 1936. He served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 1937–1943 and was Speaker of the House in his last term. He then served as South Dakota Attorney General from 1943 to 1947. He became Governor of South Dakota in 1947, and served until 1951.
Mickelson ran as favorite-son candidate in 1952 South Dakota presidential primary, supporting a national bid of Dwight D. Eisenhower, and lost narrowly to Eisenhower chief rival, Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio.[3]
Federal Judicial Service
On December 9, 1953, Mickelson received a recess appointment from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota vacated by Alfred Lee Wyman. Mickelson has been a favorite son opponent to Eisenhower earlier in 1952. Formally nominated on January 11, 1954, Mickelson was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 9, 1954, and received his commission the following day. He served as chief judge of the court from 1954 until his death in 1965.[4]
Among his judicial law clerks that worked under him included Roger Leland Wollman.
Personal life
Mickelson is the patriarch of the prominent Mickelson family of South Dakota. Mickelson's son, George S. Mickelson, served as Governor of South Dakota from 1987 to 1993. They are the only father and son duo to serve in that office in the history of South Dakota.[5] His grandson Mark Mickelson is the current Speaker of the House of Representatives in the South Dakota State Legislature.
Death
Mickelson died February 28, 1965, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County, South Dakota US.
References
- ^ 1910 Census, Walworth County, South Dakota
- ^ "George Theodore Mickelson". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- ^ Our Campaign
- ^ South Dakota Governor George Theodore Mickelson (National Governor's Association) Archived 2011-01-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Biographical Directory of the South Dakota Legislature, 1889-1989, p. 750.
External links
- George Theodore Mickelson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. 50 (New York: James T. White & Company)
- George Theodore Mickelson at Find a Grave
- 1903 births
- 1965 deaths
- American people of Norwegian descent
- Governors of South Dakota
- Judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota
- Speakers of the South Dakota House of Representatives
- Members of the South Dakota House of Representatives
- South Dakota Attorneys General
- South Dakota Republicans
- United States district court judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 20th-century American judges
- United States presidential candidates, 1952
- 20th-century American politicians
- People from Walworth County, South Dakota
- University of South Dakota School of Law alumni
- Republican Party state governors of the United States
- 20th-century American lawyers