Peter Norbeck

Peter Norbeck (August 27, 1870 – December 20, 1936) was an American politician from South Dakota. After serving one term as the ninth Governor of South Dakota, Norbeck was elected to three consecutive terms as a United States Senator. Norbeck was the first native-born Governor of South Dakota to serve in office. He is best remembered as "Mount Rushmore's great political patron", for promoting the construction of the giant sculpture at Mount Rushmore and securing federal funding for it.

Biography

Norbeck was the oldest of six children born to immigrants George (born in Jämtland, Sweden) and Karen (Larsen) Norbeck, who was Norwegian. At the time of Peter's birth, his family was living in a dugout on the family's 160 acres (0.65 km²), located eight miles (13 km) northeast of Vermillion, Dakota Territory. He attended the public schools and the University of South Dakota at Vermillion. In 1895 he was a contractor and driller of deep water, oil, and gas wells. He moved to Redfield, South Dakota in 1900 and added agricultural pursuits.