Anton J. Rockne
{{short description|American politician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2011}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Anton J. Rockne
|image name=Antonrockne.jpg
|caption=Rockne in 1935
|order=29th
|office=Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives
|term_start=1909
|term_end=1911
|office2=Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
|term_start2=1903
|term_end2=1911
|office3=Member of the Minnesota Senate
|term_start3=1911
|term_end3=1947
|predecessor=Lawrence H. Johnson
|successor=Howard H. Dunn
|birth_date= {{birth date |1868|12|19}}(?)
|birth_place= Harmony, Minnesota
|death_date={{death date and age |1950|5|2|1868|12|19}}
|death_place=
|alma_mater=University of Minnesota
|party=Republican
Nonpartisan (Conservative Caucus)
|spouse=Susie Albertson
|children=Melroy, Elnor, Ariel
|residence=Zumbrota, Minnesota
|profession=Lawyer
}}
Anton Julius "A.J." Rockne[http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.asp?ID=13680 Rockne, Anton Julius "A.J."], Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, Accessed November 28, 2010. (December 19, 1868 or 1869 – May 2, 1950) was a Minnesota Republican politician, and the longest-serving state senator in the history of Minnesota.{{cite web|url=https://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/service?type=current&body=h |title=Length of Service - Current House Members|publisher=leg.state.mn.us/lrl/|date= |accessdate=2018-11-08}}
Background
File:Anton Rockne 1913-1914.jpg
Rockne was born in Harmony, Minnesota, to Norwegian immigrant parents. Rockne graduated from Decorah Institute, in Decorah, Iowa. Rockne received a degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1894. He was admitted to the Bar on June 7, 1894, and practiced as an attorney.A Voice of Protest: Norwegians in American Politics, 1890–1917 (Jon M. Wefald. Northfield, Norwegian-American Historical Association, 1971)
He was married to Susie Albertson on December 10, 1899, and had three children. Anton J. Rockne was a director and charter member of the Norwegian fraternal organization, Vosselag, at its founding in 1909.[http://www.vosselag.org/vosselaghistory.html Avisen, v. 13, no. 1, May 2005]
Career
He was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1902. In 1909 he was selected to serve as Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, a position he held for two years.
In 1910, Rockne was elected to the Minnesota Senate. He would hold the seat for 36 years, longer than any senator in state history. Rockne served as chairman of the powerful finance committee for from 1915 to 1947. His 44 combined years of legislative service tie him with Carl M. Iverson for the greatest length of legislative service in state history until Lyndon Carlson passed it on January 3, 2017.
References
{{Reflist}}
Other sources
{{Commons category|Anton J. Rockne}}
- Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn History of Goodhue County, Minnesota (Chicago: H.C. Cooper, Jr. & Co. 1910)[http://www.leg.mn/archive/LegDB/articles/13680GoodhueHistory.pdf]
External links
- [http://www.mnopedia.org/person/rockne-anton-julius-1868-1950 Anton Julius Rockne in MNopedia, the Minnesota Encyclopedia]
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{{succession box
| title=Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives
| before=Lawrence H. Johnson
| after=Howard H. Dunn
| years=1909–1911}}
{{s-end}}
{{MNSpeakers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockne, Anton J.}}
Category:American people of Norwegian descent
Category:Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Category:Republican Party Minnesota state senators
Category:People from Zumbrota, Minnesota
Category:University of Minnesota Law School alumni
Category:People from Harmony, Minnesota
Category:20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature
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