Representative Oscar John Larson

Oscar John Larson (May 20, 1871 – August 1, 1957) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota who served two terms in Congress from 1921 to 1925. His congressional service took place during a significant period in American history, in the early 1920s, when he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his constituents in Minnesota.

Larson was born on May 20, 1871, into a Swedish-speaking family in Uleåborg in the Grand Duchy of Finland, then part of the Russian Empire. In 1876 he immigrated to the United States with his parents, who settled in Calumet, Michigan, in the copper-mining region of the Upper Peninsula. Growing up in this immigrant community, he attended the local public schools, laying the foundation for his later professional and political career.

Pursuing higher education, Larson enrolled at the Northern Indiana Normal School in Valparaiso, Indiana (now Valparaiso University), from which he graduated in 1891. He then studied law at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, completing the law department’s course of study in 1894. That same year he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Calumet, Michigan, establishing himself as a young attorney in a rapidly developing industrial area.

Larson’s early public career was rooted in local legal service. From 1899 to 1904 he served as prosecuting attorney for Houghton County, Michigan, a position that placed him at the center of legal and civic affairs in the region. In 1907 he moved to Duluth, Minnesota, where he continued the practice of law. His professional reputation and community involvement in Duluth helped propel him into public life in his adopted state.

A member of the Republican Party, Larson was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota as a Republican to the Sixty-seventh and Sixty-eighth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1921, to March 3, 1925. During his two terms in office, he contributed to the legislative process in the post–World War I era, participating in the democratic governance of the nation and representing the interests of his Minnesota constituents. He chose not to run for re-election in 1924 and thus concluded his congressional service after two consecutive terms.

Larson’s prominence as a Finnish-born American also brought him recognition from his country of birth. In 1920 he was invested as a knight of the Order of the White Rose of Finland, an honor reflecting his standing within the Finnish and Finnish-American communities. In 1933 he was promoted within the same order to the rank of commander, underscoring his continued stature and the esteem in which he was held by Finnish authorities.

After leaving Congress, Larson resumed the practice of law in Duluth, where he continued his legal career for many years. He remained a respected figure in the city’s professional and civic life until his death. Oscar John Larson died in Duluth, Minnesota, on August 1, 1957. He was interred in Forest Hill Cemetery in Duluth, closing a life that spanned immigration from the Russian Empire, legal and public service in the Upper Midwest, and two terms in the United States Congress.