Background
Oscar Knutson was born in Superior, Wisconsin. He was the son of Bottolf and Rachel (Satren) Knutson, who were immigrants from Norway. The son of immigrant parents, he did not learn to speak English until he entered school.
Oscar Knutson was born in Superior, Wisconsin. He was the son of Bottolf and Rachel (Satren) Knutson, who were immigrants from Norway. The son of immigrant parents, he did not learn to speak English until he entered school.
He graduated from Warren, Minnesota High School in 1920 and attended Saint Olaf College and the Northwestern School of Agriculture (now University of Minnesota Crookston), graduating from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1927.
Knutson practiced law in Warren with Julius J. Olson, who also became a Minnesota Supreme Court justice. Knutson ran unsuccessfully for Marshall County, Minnesota attorney in 1930. He was elected mayor of Warren in 1936 and was re-elected twice, resigning when he was appointed a district court judge in 1941 by Governor Harold Stassen.
On May 7, 1948, he was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court by Governor Luther Youngdahl, succeeding Olson.
On January 25, 1962, he was appointed Chief Justice by Governor Elmer L. Andersen and was elected in 1964 and re-elected in 1970. He retired in 1973. While mayor of Warren, Knutson and two partners purchased the Warren Telephone Company, which they operated until 1949.
Knutson married Louise Halvorson of Warren in 1934, and they had three children, Richard, Robert and Anne. Louise died in 1955. In 1968, Knutson married Katherine Mellby Anderson, granddaughter of Judge Andrew Grindeland of Warren.
After retiring from the Court, Knutson lost his eyesight as a result of a stroke.
Oscar Knutson was renowned for his skill in the kitchen making pancakes. He died in 1981.