Martin Nelson Johnson was a North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

 politician who served as a United States Representative and Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 from North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

.

Biography

Born in Racine County, Wisconsin, he moved with his parents to Decorah, Iowa

Decorah, Iowa

Decorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,172 at the 2000 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S...

, the same year. He was taught at home and attended the country schools; in 1873 he graduated from the law department

University of Iowa College of Law

The University of Iowa College of Law is one of the eleven professional graduate schools at the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. Founded in 1865, it is the oldest law school in continuous operation west of the Mississippi River. The law school was ranked as the 27th best law school...

 of the University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

 at Iowa City, and taught two years in the California Military Academy

California Military Academy

The California Military Academy is a military academy of the California Army National Guard located at Camp San Luis Obispo.-History:The school started as an idea of an "Officer Candidate School" in 1950. However, a need for an academy in California convinced Major General Curtis D. O’Sullivan to...

 at Oakland, California

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

. He returned to Iowa in 1875, was admitted to the bar

Bar (law)

Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...

 in 1876 and commenced practice in Decorah. He was a member of the Iowa House of Representatives

Iowa House of Representatives

The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 100 members of the House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 29,750 for each constituency...

 in 1877 and a member of the Iowa Senate

Iowa Senate

The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 members of the Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 59,500 per constituency. Each Senate district is composed of two House districts...

 from 1878 to 1882. He was a presidential elector on the Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 ticket in 1876

United States presidential election, 1876

The United States presidential election of 1876 was one of the most disputed and controversial presidential elections in American history. Samuel J. Tilden of New York outpolled Ohio's Rutherford B. Hayes in the popular vote, and had 184 electoral votes to Hayes's 165, with 20 votes uncounted...

.

Johnson moved to Dakota Territory

Dakota Territory

The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...

 in 1882 and engaged in agricultural pursuits; he was prosecuting attorney of Nelson County

Nelson County, North Dakota

-National protected areas:*Johnson Lake National Wildlife Refuge *Lambs Lake National Wildlife Refuge*Rose Lake National Wildlife Refuge*Stump Lake National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...

 from 1886 to 1890 and was a member of the constitutional convention

Constitutional convention (political meeting)

A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...

 of North Dakota

North Dakota Constitution

The Constitution of the State of North Dakota is the most basic legal document in the U.S. State of North Dakota.-External links:*...

 in 1889. In 1889 he was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for election to the U.S. Senate, and was elected a Representative to the Fifty-second and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1891 to March 4, 1899. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1898, having become a candidate for Senator; his candidacy was unsuccessful 1899, but he was later elected and served from March 4, 1909, until his death in Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...

 in 1909. While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee to Investigate Trespassers Upon Indian Lands (Sixty-first Congress). Interment was in the City Cemetery, Petersburg, North Dakota

Petersburg, North Dakota

As of the census of 2000, there were 195 people, 82 households, and 51 families residing in the city. The population density was 189.0 people per square mile . There were 106 housing units at an average density of 102.7 per square mile...

.