Charles August Lindbergh Sr. | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 6th district |
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In office March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1917 |
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Preceded by | Clarence Buckman |
Succeeded by | Harold Knutson |
Personal details | |
Born | Carl Månsson January 20, 1859 Stockholm, Sweden |
Died | May 24, 1924 Crookston, Minnesota, United States |
(aged 65)
Political party | Republican |
Religion | Lutheran |
Charles August Lindbergh Sr. (January 20, 1859 – May 24, 1924) was a United States Congressman from Minnesota's 6th congressional district from 1907 to 1917. He opposed both American entry into World War I, and the 1913 Federal Reserve Act.
He was the father of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh.
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Lindbergh was born Carl Månsson, in Stockholm, Sweden, to Lovisa Carlén, the 19-year-old mistress of Ola Månsson, a member of the Riksdag and a bank manager. When accused of bribery and embezzlement, Ola Månsson changed his name to August Lindbergh, left his wife and seven children, and fled to the United States with his mistress and their illegitimate infant son, Carl, in 1859. Lovisa became Louisa and little Carl became Charles August Lindbergh.
They settled in Melrose, Minnesota, and had six more children. August worked as a farmer and a blacksmith for 26 years before marrying Louisa in 1885; he had become a widower in 1864 with the death of his first wife in Sweden.[1][2]
Charles August Lindbergh studied law at the University of Michigan Law School, graduating in 1883 and being admitted to the bar the same year. In 1887, Lindbergh married Mary LaFond, with whom he had two daughters, Lillian and Eva. Mary LaFond died in 1898.
In 1901, Charles married Evangeline Lodge Land (1876–1954). They separated in 1918, their only child being the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, who also became an antiwar leader.[2]
He served as prosecuting attorney for Morrison County, Minnesota from 1891 through 1893. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1906, as a Republican, serving in the 60th, 61st, 62nd, 63rd, and 64th congresses. In 1916, he unsuccessfully campaigned for a seat in the United States Senate. At the time of his death, Lindbergh was a candidate for Governor on the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party ticket and would have been the first Minnesota Governor from the party if he had been elected.
In 1913, he wrote Banking, Currency, and the Money Trust, and in 1917 he wrote "Why is Your Country at War?", attributing high finance as America's involvement in World War I. According to Eustace Mullins, plates of this book were confiscated and destroyed by Government agents.[3] Also in 1917 Lindbergh brought articles of impeachment against members of the Federal Reserve Board including Paul Warburg and William Proctor Gould Harding. Lindbergh charged that the Federal Reserve Board members were involved "...in a conspiracy to violate the Constitution and laws of the United States..."[4]
Charles August Lindbergh died in Crookston, Minnesota of brain cancer. He has a memorial plaque in the columbarium at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. According to his wish, son Charles scattered his ashes over the place near Sauk River, where the first Lindbergh home once stood.[5]
United States House of Representatives | ||
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Preceded by Clarence Buckman |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 6th congressional district 1907–1917 |
Succeeded by Harold Knutson |
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