William C. Christianson
{{Short description|American judge}}{{Infobox officeholder
| name = William Christianson
| birth_name = William Christian Christianson
| birth_date = December 5, 1892
| death_date = May 27, 1985 (aged 92)
| birth_place = Moody County, South Dakota, U.S.
| death_place = Red Wing, Minnesota, U.S.
| office = Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court
| term_end = January 1947
| term_start = March 1946
| predecessor = Luther Youngdahl
| appointer = Edward John Thye
| education = Highland Park College (BA)
University of Chicago (JD)
}}
William Christian Christianson (December 5, 1892 – May 27, 1985) was an American jurist. He was one of the judges at the Nuremberg Military Tribunals.{{cite web
|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/30/us/wc-christianson-dies-at-92-judge-on-nuremberg-tribunal.html|title= W.C. Christianson Dies at 92; Judge on Nuremberg Tribunal|publisher= New York Times Company |date= May 30, 1985|access-date= May 1, 2016}}
Early life and education
Christianson was born in Moody County, South Dakota. He was the son of Christian O. Christianson (1857–1937) and Karen (Holter) Christianson (1862–1936).{{cite web|url= http://genealogytrails.com/sdak/moody/birthsCD.html|title= William Christian Christianson, born 5 Dec 1892
|publisher= Moody County, South Dakota Birth Records|access-date= May 1, 2016}} Christianson went to school in Austin, Minnesota, and Jasper, Minnesota. He earned a bachelor's degree from Highland Park College and then received his Juris Doctor from University of Chicago Law School in 1920.
Career
Christianson was assistant county attorney for Goodhue County, Minnesota and Red Wing, Minnesota city attorney. Christianson served on the Minnesota Supreme Court from March 1946 to January 1947. In 1948 and 1949, Christianson was one of the judges of the Subsequent Nuremberg trials. In 1949, Christianson was appointed a Minnesota District Court judge for the first district and served until his retirement in 1963.{{cite web|url= http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/NurembergNews9_8_98.html|title= Nuremberg trial judge's papers sent to Holocaust museum|publisher= Associated Press |date= 1998
|access-date= May 1, 2016}}[https://mn.gov/law-library/research-links/justice-bios/william-christianson.jsp William C. Christianson] (Minnesota State Law Library)[http://mn.gov/lawlib/judges/memorials/ChristiansonObit.pdf William C. Christianson-obituary]{{cite web|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-06-01-fi-5504-story.html|title= William Christianson, Nuremberg Judge, Dies|work= Los Angeles Times |date= June 1, 1985|access-date= May 1, 2016}}
Personal life
Christianson was married to Myrtle Lorenz who died in 1977. Christianson died in Red Wing, Minnesota, in 1985. He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Goodhue County, Minnesota.{{cite web|url= https://mn.gov/law-library/assets/ChristiansonObit_tcm1041-77015.pdf|title= Justice William C. Christianson Obituary|publisher= Star Tribune|date= May 28, 1985|access-date= May 1, 2016}}
References
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Category:People from Red Wing, Minnesota
Category:People from Moody County, South Dakota
Category:University of Chicago Law School alumni
Category:Minnesota state court judges
Category:Justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court
Category:Judges of the United States Nuremberg Military Tribunals
Category:American people of Norwegian descent
Category:20th-century American judges
Category:20th-century Lutherans
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