Tollefson, Thor C. (Thor Carl), 1901-1982

Congressman.

From the description of Reminiscences of Thor C. Tollefson : oral history, 1974. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122376661

Thor Carl Tollefson (1901-1982), Representative to Congress from Washington State, was born in Minnesota and later moved to Tacoma, Washington in 1912. In 1930, he graduated from the University of Washington Law School in Seattle, and became a Pierce County prosecutor in 1938. In 1944 Tollefson ran as a Republican in the race for Representative of Washington State in the 6th district, which then covered all of Pierce and King counties except the city of Seattle. He lost to Democrat John Coffee that year, but ran again in 1946 and this time was successfully elected to the 80th Congress. He was re-elected to the next seven congresses, serving as a Representative consecutively from January 1947 to January 1965. During his congressional career, he served on the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee from 1949 to 1964. In 1964, Tollefson was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the 88th Congress. Following his Congressional career, Tollefson was appointed director of fisheries for the State of Washington and later served as special assistant to the Governor in charge of international fisheries negotiations. He died December 30, 1982 in Tacoma, Washington.

From the guide to the Thor C. Tollefson papers, 1944-1964, (University of Washington Libraries Special Collections)