Byron G. Allen

Byron Gilchrist Allen (September 13, 1901 – June 10, 1988) was a Minnesota and Iowa politician who was the first nominee of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party for governor.

Byron G. Allen
Personal details
Born
Byron Gilchrist Allen

(1901-09-13)September 13, 1901
Laurens, Iowa
DiedJune 10, 1988(1988-06-10) (aged 86)
Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
Political party

Born in Laurens, Iowa, Allen attended Iowa State College (now Iowa State University) from 1920–1924.[1] He was a newspaper editor by trade, and served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1927 to 1932. He unsuccessfully sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa in 1940.

In 1944, Allen was the first nominee for governor of Minnesota's newly formed Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, a merger of the state's Democratic and Farmer–Labor parties. He lost to incumbent Republican governor Edward John Thye.

Allen later served as Minnesota Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture from 1955 to 1961 under Governor Orville Freeman, and as Assistant U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 1961 to 1969, also under Freeman, who was appointed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture by President John F. Kennedy.

Allen was married to Elsa Ellanora Erickson.[2]

Allen died in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota on June 10, 1988.[3]

References

  1. Official Register. Iowa General Assembly. 1927. p. 238.
  2. Political Graveyard
  3. "Byron Allen, Agriculture Official". The New York Times. The Associated Press. 1988-06-13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Party Created
Endorsed Gubernatorial Candidate,
Minnesota DFL State Convention

1944
Succeeded by
Harold H. Barker
Preceded by
Hjalmar Petersen
Farmer–Labor Party
DFL nominee for Governor of Minnesota
1944
Preceded by
John D. Sullivan
Democratic Party


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