Karl Earl MUNDT, Congress, SD (1900-1974)

MUNDT, Karl Earl, a Representative and a Senator from South Dakota; born in Humboldt, Minnehaha County, S.Dak., June 3, 1900; attended the public schools of Humboldt, Pierre, and Madison, S.Dak.; graduated from Carleton College, Northfield, Minn., in 1923 and from Columbia University, New York City, in 1927; high school teacher of speech and social science in Bryant, S.Dak., 1923-1924, and superintendent of schools in Bryant 1924-1927; speech and social science teacher in General Beadle State Teachers College, Madison, S.Dak., 1927-1936; also engaged in the real estate and insurance business and in agricultural pursuits; member of the State Game and Fish Commission 1931-1937; also engaged in literary pursuits; elected as a Republican to the Seventy-sixth Congress; reelected to the four succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1939, until his resignation on December 30, 1948, having been appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Vera C. Bushfield and served from December 31, 1948, to January 3, 1949; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1948; reelected in 1954, 1960 and 1966 and served from December 31, 1948, to January 3, 1973; was not a candidate for reelection in 1972; died in Washington, D.C., August 16, 1974; interment in Graceland Cemetery, Madison, S.Dak.

Bibliography

American National Biography; Dictionary of American Biography; Lange, Gerald. “Mundt vs. McGovern: The 1960 Senate Election.” Heritage of the Great Plains 15 (Fall 1982): 33-41; Heidepriem, Scott N. A Fair Chance for a Free People: Biography of Karl E. Mundt, United States Senator. Madison, SD: Leader Printing Co., 1988.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present