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John Rustgard

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American politician from Alaska (1863–1950)
John Rustgard
3rd Attorney General of the Alaska Territory
In office
1920–1933
GovernorThomas Riggs Jr.
Scott Cordelle Bone
George Alexander Parks
Preceded byJeremiah C. Murphy
Succeeded byJames S. Truitt
Mayor of Nome
In office
27 April 1902 – 23 May 1904
Preceded byW. H. Bard
Succeeded byH. P. King
Nome City Attorney
In office
1900–1909
U.S. District Attorney in the First Judicial Division
In office
1910–1914
Personal details
Born1863
Beitstad, Norway
DiedFebruary 12, 1950(1950-02-12) (aged 86–87)
Babson Park, Florida, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Minnesota

John Rustgard (21 October 1863 – 12 February 1950) was a Norwegian-American lawyer and politician who served as the 3rd Attorney General of the Alaska Territory as a member of the Republican party from 1920 to 1933. He remains the longest serving attorney general of Alaska to date.

Early life

John Rustgard was born in Beitstad, Norway in 1863. He left Norway as a cabin boy on a clipper ship, and ended up settling in Minnesota. Rustgard attended school in Red Wing, Minnesota and earned a law degree from the University of Minnesota in 1890. Afterward, Rustgard worked in Minneapolis as a schoolteacher from 1890 to 1892 before practicing law from 1892 to 1900. He married Alice Jane Adeane in 1902 and stayed with her until her death in 1924 before remarrying with Josephine Michaelson.

Political career

John Rustgard moved to Nome, Alaska in 1900, where he practiced law and became the City attorney for Nome for two terms until 1908. He also served a single term as Mayor of Nome from 1902 to 1904. Rustgard moved to Juneau in 1908 and served as the U.S. District Attorney in the First Judicial Division from 1910 to 1914 before returning to practice private law. In 1920, Rustgard was elected as the 3rd Attorney General of the Alaska Territory, a position to which he would get re-elected twice and serve until 1933 under three different Governors. Rustgard also ran in the Republican Primary for the office of Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Alaska Territory's at-large district, but lost to James Wickersham. During his time in Alaska, Rustgard also became a miner on the Seward Peninsula.

John Rustgard in 1905.

Later life and death

Following the end of his term as state Attorney General in 1933, Rustgard spent 18 months in Europe before retiring to Babson Park, Florida in 1936. Rustgard wrote a number of books, including: The problem of poverty (1936), Sharing the wealth (1937) and The bankruptcy of liberalism (1942). He also spent a great amount of time on the subject of sociology. Rustgard died at his home, Villa Sorgenfri, in Babson Park, Florida on 12 February 1950, he lies buried at Oaklawn Cemetery in Winter Haven, Florida.

References

  1. The Pathfinder of Alaska, November 1920 issue, p. 24
  2. "ATTORNEYS GENERAL OF ALASKA". alaska.gov. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  3. "John Rustgard". alaskaweb.org. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  4. "Guide to the John Rustgard telegram 1912". archives.consortiumlibrary.org. 12 February 1912. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  5. "The law of the land" (PDF). alaskabar.org. 1998. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  6. "JOHN RUSTGARD, 86, LAWYER, SCHOLAR; One-Time Attorney General of Alaska Who Wrote Books on Sociology Is Dead". The New York Times. 14 February 1950. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
Political offices
Preceded byW. H. Bard Mayor of Nome
1902-1904 		Succeeded byH. P. King
Preceded byJeremiah C. Murphy Attorney General of the Alaska Territory
1920-1933 		Succeeded byJames S. Truitt
Attorneys general of Alaska
Territorial (1916–59) Alaska
State (since 1959)
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