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Christgau, Victor Laurence August

Sessions Served  red ball graphic  Other Information


Map of Austin
Austin, MN

Senate 1927-29 (District 5)

Party when first elected:  Nonpartisan Election

Counties Served:  Dodge, Mower

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Date of Birth: 09/20/1894 (uncertain) Date of Death: 10/10/1991
Birth Place: Austin, Minnesota Birth County: Mower Birth Country: United States
Other Names:
Gender:  Male Religion:  Not Reported
City of Residence (when first elected):  Austin

Occupation (when first elected):  Farming, Christgau Brothers

EDUCATION

Austin High School, Minnesota; Secondary;
University of Minnesota, College of Agriculture; College Graduate; St. Paul Campus, Agriculture and Economics, 1917 (or 1923 or 1926)
University of Minnesota; Attended Graduate School; Business and Economics, 2 years

OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE

MilitaryUnited States Army, 33rd Regiment of Engineers (World War I, France, Sergeant) ??/??/1917 to ??/??/1918
U.S. Representative1st Congressional District, MinnesotaElected03/04/1929 to 03/03/1933
U.S. Executive BranchU.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Adjustment Administration (Commodities Division Head, Appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt)Appointed06/??/1933 to 02/??/1935
U.S. Executive BranchMinnesota Works Progress Administration (State Administrator)Appointed06/??/1935 to 06/??/1938
State AgencyMinnesota Division of Employment and Security (Director) ??/??/1939 to ??/??/1953
State AgencyMinnesota Department of Employment Security (Commissioner) ??/??/1953 to ??/??/1954
U.S. Executive BranchU.S. Social Security Administration, Bureau of Old Age and Survivors Insurance (Director, Appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower)Appointed??/??/1954 to ??/??/1963
U.S. Executive BranchU.S. Social Security Administration (Executive Director, Appointed by President John F. Kennedy)Appointed01/??/1963 to 03/??/1967

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

Spouse: Muriel Doyle (married on July 30, 1931)
Children: No children
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:

GENERAL NOTES

Toensing lists his birth year as 1895. The Minnesota Legislative Manuals and the Minnesota Historical Society list 1894.

He was of German ancestry.

He was born on a farm east of Austin, Minnesota.

He was an unsuccessful Farmer-Labor candidate for the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota's 1st District in the 1924 primary election.

He ran for the United States House of Representatives as a Republican in 1928.

He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination to the United States House of Representatives in 1932. He ran unsuccessfully as a write-in candidate.

He died of pneumonia at George Washington Hospital in Washington, D.C. He was buried at St. Thomas Aquinas Cemetery in St. Paul Park, Minnesota.

Legislative Session: 46th (1929-1930) (second half of Senate term)   Session Details
Body: Senate Elected: 11/2/1926 Term of Office: 1/4/1927 to 3/4/1929 (unfinished term)
District: 05 Residence: Austin
Counties Represented: Dodge, Mower
Occupation: Farmer
Party: Nonpartisan Election
Committees:
Agriculture (Chair)
Education
General Legislation
Reforestation
Taxes and Tax Laws
Temperance
University
Reason for unfinished term: Elected to other office
Session Notes: He was elected to the United States House of Representatives. His actual term end date is uncertain due to his election to another office.
Legislative Session: 45th (1927-1928)   Session Details
Body: Senate Elected: 11/2/1926 Term of Office: 1/4/1927 to 3/4/1929 (unfinished term)
District: 05 Residence: Austin
Counties Represented: Dodge, Mower
Occupation: Farming, Christgau Brothers
Party: Nonpartisan Election
Committees:
Education
General Legislation
Markets and Marketing
Public Welfare
Reforestation
Taxes and Tax Laws
Temperance
Reason for unfinished term: Elected to other office
Session Notes: He was elected to the United States House of Representatives. His actual term end date is uncertain due to his election to another office.

OTHER INFORMATION

Articles & Books About
"Victor Christgau, 97, Former Minnesota Congressman, Dies (Obituary)." St. Paul Pioneer Press, October 12, 1991, p. 9A, 12A.

Freeborn, Dan. "Ex-Congressman Victor Christgau (Obituary)." Star Tribune, October 12, 1991.

Christgau, Victor Laurence August. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.


Archive Collections
Victor Christgau Papers, 1894-1991 - Available in the Minnesota Historical Society's Collections


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Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, 645 State Office Building, Saint Paul, MN  55155