Knute Nelson is born in Evanger in the Voss district of western Norway. He moved to Alexandria, Minnesota, in 1871, and from 1893 to 1895 he held the state's highest office, serving as the first Scandinavian-born governor in US history. After this stint as governor, Nelson served in the US Senate, where he wrote the bills creating the departments of commerce and labor. He died on April 28, 1923.