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Peter Norbeck

Peter Norbeck (August 27, 1870 – December 20, 1936) served as a South Dakota State Senator from Spink County, as the Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota, as the ninth Governor of South Dakota, and as a United States Senator. Norbeck was the first Governor of South Dakota to have been born within the borders of the state.

Peter was the oldest of six children to be born to Norwegian immigrants, George and Karen (Larsen) Norbeck. At the time of Norbeck's birth, his family was living in a dugout on the family's 160 acres, located eight miles northeast of Vermillion, Dakota Territory. On May 9, 1908, Peter Norbeck ran for the South Dakota State Senate from Spink County. After being elected to the first of three terms, he joined Coe Crawford's inner circle of Progressives. In 1914, Norbeck reluctantly accepted Governor Frank Byrne's invitation to run as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota. In 1916, Norbeck beat Democratic candidate, Orville Rinehart, and became the ninth Governor of South Dakota. He served in that office from 1917 to 1921. In 1920, Norbeck was easily elected to the office of United States Senator. He won the election with 50% of the vote, in part due to the fact that the election involved a Democrat and two relatively strong independent candidates, with the Democrat coming in third place. Norbeck was a United States senator for the next sixteen years until his death from cancer during his third term.

Norbeck made a number of contributions towards South Dakota's tourism industry. He contributed to the development of the Iron Mountain Road in the Black Hills. He brought Gutzon Borglum to South Dakota and convinced Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide federal money for the carving of Mount Rushmore. He also contributed to the development of Sylvan Lake, Needles Highway, Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, and Wind Cave National Park.

• Entry for Peter Norbeck at the Weekly South Dakotan website
• Entry for Peter Norbeck at the South Dakota State Historical Society website
• Entry for Peter Norbeck at Infoplease.com
• Burial record for Peter Norbeck at Findagrave.com

Governors of South Dakota
Mellette • Sheldon • Lee • Herreid • Elrod • Crawford • Vessey • Byrne • Norbeck • McMaster • Gunderson • Bulow • Green • Berry • Jensen • Bushfield • Sharpe • G.T. Mickelson • Anderson • Foss • Herseth • Gubbrud • Boe • Farrar • Kneip • Wollman • Janklow • G.S. Mickelson • Miller • Janklow • Rounds