Ernest Lundeen was an American lawyer and politician.

Lundeen was born and raised on his father's homestead in Brooklyn Township

Brooklyn Township, Lincoln County, South Dakota

Brooklyn Township is a township in Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States, in the Sioux Falls metropolitan area. Its population was 233 at the 2000 census....

 of Lincoln County

Lincoln County, South Dakota

As of the census of 2000, there were 24,131 people, 8,782 households, and 6,665 families residing in the county. The population density was 42 people per square mile . There were 9,131 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...

 near Beresford, South Dakota

Beresford, South Dakota

Beresford is a city in Lincoln and Union counties in the U.S. state of South Dakota. The population was 2,005 as of the 2010 census. The southern two-thirds is part of the Sioux City, IA–NE–SD Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the northern one-third is part of the Sioux Falls...

. His father, C. H. Lundeen, was an early pioneer who was credited with the naming Brooklyn Township as well as with helping to establish the school and other institutions located there. Most of Ernest Lundeen's brothers and sisters died during a diphtheria epidemic during the 1880s. In 1896, Lundeen and his family moved to Harcourt, Iowa

Harcourt, Iowa

Harcourt is a city in Webster County, Iowa, United States. The population was 340 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Harcourt is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

 and then to Minnesota. He graduated from Carleton College

Carleton College

Carleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...

 in Northfield, Minnesota

Northfield, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...

 in 1901 and then studied law at the University of Minnesota Law School

University of Minnesota Law School

The University of Minnesota Law School, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, is a professional school of the University of Minnesota. The school offers a Juris Doctor , Masters of Law for Foreign Lawyers, and joint degrees with J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.P.A, J.D./M.A., J.D./M.S., J.D./Ph.D.,...

. In 1906, he was admitted to the bar.

Lundeen served in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 during the Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

. He served in the Minnesota House of Representatives

Minnesota House of Representatives

The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...

 1911-1914. He then served as a Republican from Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 in the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

, from March 4, 1917 to March 3, 1919 in the 65th congress

65th United States Congress

The Sixty-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1917 to March 4, 1919, during the fourth and fifth...

. As representative, he was one of 50 Congressman to vote against the declaration of war against Germany on April 6, 1917. He served as a Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party

Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party

The Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party was a political party in the United States state of Minnesota, the most successful and longest-lasting of the constituent elements of the national Farmer–Labor Party movement, which had a presence in other states...

 member in the House from March 4, 1933 to January 3, 1937 in the 73rd

73rd United States Congress

The Seventy-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1933 to January 3, 1935, during the first two years...

 and 74th congresses

74th United States Congress

-House:Also 2 Delegates, 3 Resident Commissioners-Senate:*President of the Senate: John N. Garner *President pro tempore: Key Pittman -Majority leadership:*Majority leader: Joseph T. Robinson...

. He was elected to the United States Senate

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...

 in 1936 as a member of the Farmer-Labor Party. He served from January 3, 1937 in the 75th

75th United States Congress

The Seventy-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1937 to January 3, 1939, during the first two years...

 and 76th congresses

76th United States Congress

The Seventy-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1939 to January 3, 1941, during the seventh and...

, until his death.

He remained sympathetic to Germany. According to Alton Frye, he had close ties to George Sylvester Viereck

George Sylvester Viereck

George Sylvester Viereck was a German-American poet, writer, and propagandist.-Biography:...

, a leading German agent. Viereck often used Lundeen's office, and "sometimes dictated speeches for Lundeen, openly using the Senator's telephones to obtain material from Hans Thomsen at the [German] embassy."

On the afternoon of August 31, 1940, Lundeen was a passenger on Flight 19

Lovettsville Air Disaster

The Lovettsville air disaster occurred on August 31, 1940 near Lovettsville, Virginia. Pennsylvania Central Airlines Trip 19 was a new Douglas DC-3A that was flying through an intense thunderstorm at . Numerous witnesses reported seeing a large flash of lightning shortly before it nosed over and...

 of Pennsylvania Central Airlines

Capital Airlines

Capital Airlines was an airline serving the eastern United States that merged into United Airlines in 1961. Its primary hubs were National Airport near Washington, DC, and Allegheny County Airport near Pittsburgh. In the 1950s it was the largest US domestic carrier after the Big Four . Its...

, flying from Washington to Detroit. The plane, a Douglas

Douglas Aircraft Company

The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer, based in Long Beach, California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas...

 DC-3, flew into turbulence from a thunderstorm. The plane crashed near Lovettsville

Lovettsville, Virginia

Lovettsville is a town in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. The population was 853 at the 2000 census. The 2005-2009 American Community Survey estimated the population at 1187.-History:Following the 1722 Treaty of St...

, Virginia and all 25 persons on board were killed, including Senator Lundeen.

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