{{Short description|American politician (1854–1922)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2017}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = James Ole Davidson | image = James Ole Davidson, 1906 portrait from Bain Collection retouched.jpg | caption = | order1 = 21st | office1 = Governor of Wisconsin | lieutenant1 = William D. Connor<br />John Strange | term_start1 = January 1, 1906 | term_end1 = January 2, 1911 <br>Acting: January 1 1906 – January 7, 1907 | predecessor1 = Robert M. La Follette | successor1 = Francis E. McGovern | order2 = 19th | office2 = Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin | governor2 = Robert M. La Follette | term_start2 = January 5, 1903 | term_end2 = January 1, 1906 | predecessor2 = Jesse Stone | successor2 = William D. Connor | office3 = 13th Treasurer of Wisconsin | term_start3 = January 2, 1899 | term_end3 = January 5, 1903 | governor3 = Edward Scofield<br>Robert M. LaFollette | preceded3 = Sewell A. Peterson | succeeded3 = John J. Kempf | state_assembly4 = Wisconsin | district4 = Crawford County | term_start4 = January 2, 1893 | term_end4 = January 2, 1899 | predecessor4 = Ambrose Thompson | successor4 = Hugh Porter | birth_date = {{birth date|1854|2|10}} | birth_place = Aardal Municipality, Nordre Bergenhus County, Norway | death_date = {{death date and age|1922|12|16|1854|2|10}} | death_place = Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. | resting_place = Forest Hill Cemetery, Madison, Wisconsin | party = Republican | spouse = Helen Bliss | children = 2 | signature = Signature of James Ole Davidson.png | status = }} '''James Ole Davidson''' (February 10, 1854{{spaced ndash}}December 16, 1922) was a Norwegian American immigrant, tailor, merchant, and progressive Republican politician from Crawford County, Wisconsin. He was the 21st governor of Wisconsin, serving from 1906 to 1911; he was initially elected as lieutenant governor under governor Robert M. La Follette, and ascended to the gubernatorial office after La Follette resigned, but then won two full terms as governor in the 1906 and 1908 elections.
Before becoming lieutenant governor, Davidson served as the 13th state treasurer of Wisconsin from 1899 to 1903, and represented Crawford County in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1893 to 1899.
==Early life== Davidson was born in Aardal Municipality (later spelled ''Årdal'') in Nordre Bergenhus County, Norway, and emigrated in 1872 to the United States when he was 18 years old.<ref name="Obit">{{cite news|title=Ex-Governor of Wisconsin Dead|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10193924/james_o_davidson_18541922/|newspaper=Wausau Daily Herald|date=December 18, 1922|page=1|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = April 11, 2017 }} {{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=2318&keyword=davidson |title=Davidson, James O. 1854 – 1922<!--Bot-generated title--> |access-date=March 8, 2008 |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104010615/http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=2318&keyword=davidson |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Boscobel, Wisconsin he worked as a farmhand and as a tailor.<ref name="Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration 2008 218">{{cite book|last=Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration|first=and Herman, Jennifer L.|title=Wisconsin Encyclopedia|date=2008|publisher=North American Book Dist LLC|page=218|isbn=9781878592613|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iCEl1sqlZLQC&q=james+o+davidson+boscobel+wi&pg=PA218}}</ref> Davidson began a successful mercantile business and established his own tailor business in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin.<ref>[http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/nrk_sogn_og_fjordane/fylkesleksikon/1517627.html Jens Davidson] at NRK Sogn og Fjordane County Encyclopedia {{in lang|no}}</ref>
==Political career== He held several political positions in Wisconsin, and was twice elected village president in Soldiers Grove.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.soldiersgrove.com/Did_You_Know.html |title=Did You Know? |publisher=Soldiers Grove Wisconsin America's First Solar Village |access-date=May 24, 2014 }}{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Davidson was also elected as a Republican candidate to the Wisconsin State Assembly, serving three terms from 1893 to 1899. He was elected Wisconsin state treasurer in 1898 and 1900.<ref name="Legislative Reference Bureau 1960 154">{{cite book|last=Legislative Reference Bureau|title=The Wisconsin Blue Book|date=1960|publisher=Legislative Reference Bureau|page=154|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z8VWAAAAYAAJ&q=james+o+davidson+governor&pg=PA152}}</ref>
In 1902, Davidson was elected the 19th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin alongside governor Robert M. "Fighting Bob" La Follette. Davidson and La Follette were re-elected in 1904, and in early 1905 La Follette was elected United States senator. La Follette delayed accepting the new office, overseeing a productive session of progressive legislation in the 47th Wisconsin Legislature before resigning on January 1, 1906. At that time, Davidson ascended to the office and became the 21st governor of Wisconsin.<ref>{{cite web|title=James O. Davidson|url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Content.aspx?dsNav=N:4294963828-4294955414&dsRecordDetails=R:IM30700|publisher=1996–2014 Wisconsin Historical Society|access-date=May 21, 2014}}</ref> He was then elected governor in 1906 and reelected in 1908.<ref name="Legislative Reference Bureau 1960 154"/> He served from January 4, 1906, to January 3, 1911; and during his tenure, state regulation of the railroads was extended to include public utilities, telegraph, telephone, electricity, water companies, and the insurance industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wisconsinhistoricalmarkers.blogspot.com/2013/07/marker-112-james-davidson.htmll|title=Marker 112: James Davidson|publisher=Marker 112: James DavidsonWisconsinHistorical Markers|access-date=May 24, 2014}}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> After retiring from office, he was appointed by his gubernatorial successor to a five-year term as president of the State Board of Control.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.genealogytrails.com/wis/GovernorsWIpg04.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011005501/http://www.genealogytrails.com/wis/GovernorsWIpg04.html |url-status=live |archive-date=October 11, 2008 |title=Governors of Wisconsin |publisher=Genealogy Trails |access-date=May 24, 2014 }}</ref>
==Death== Davidson died in Madison, Wisconsin, on December 16, 1922,<ref name="Obit"/><ref name="Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration 2008 218"/> due to pneumonia and heart complications. He is interred at Madison's historic Forest Hill Cemetery.<ref name="Ancestry.com">{{cite web|url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wisobits/name/d.html#DavidsonJamesOGovl|title=Wisconsin Scandinavian Obituaries D|publisher= Ancestry.com|access-date= May 24, 2014}}</ref>
==Family life== Davidson was the son of Ole Davidson and Ingabor (Jenson) Davidson.<ref name="Ancestry.com"/> On February 19, 1883, Davidson married Helen Bliss and they had two daughters, Mabel Elsie and Grace.<ref name="Obit"/><ref>{{cite web|title=James O. Davidson|url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/thisday/index.asp?month=6&day=14|publisher=1996–2014 Wisconsin Historical Society|access-date=May 21, 2014|archive-date=May 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521201749/http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/thisday/index.asp?month=6&day=14|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==See also== *List of United States governors born outside the United States
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Find a Grave|20914942}} *[http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_wisconsin/col2-content/main-content-list/title_davidson_james.html National Governors Association]
{{s-start}} {{s-ppo}} {{s-bef|before = Sewell A. Peterson}} {{s-ttl|title = Republican nominee for State Treasurer of Wisconsin | years=1898, 1900}} {{s-aft|after = John J. Kempf}} {{s-bef|before = Jesse Stone}} {{s-ttl|title = Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin|years= 1902, 1904 }} {{s-aft|after = William D. Connor}} {{s-bef|before = Robert M. La Follette}} {{s-ttl|title = Republican nominee for Governor of Wisconsin|years=1906, 1908}} {{s-aft|after = Francis E. McGovern}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before = Sewell A. Peterson}} {{s-ttl|title = State Treasurer of Wisconsin | years=January 2, 1899{{spaced ndash}}January 5, 1903}} {{s-aft|after = John J. Kempf}} {{s-bef|before = Jesse Stone }} {{s-ttl|title = Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin | years= January 5, 1903{{spaced ndash}}January 1, 1906}} {{s-aft|after = William D. Connor }} {{s-bef|before = Robert M. La Follette }} {{s-ttl|title = Governor of Wisconsin | years= January 1, 1906{{spaced ndash}}January 2, 1911 }} {{s-aft|after = Francis E. McGovern }} {{s-end}}
{{Governors of Wisconsin}} {{Lieutenant Governors of Wisconsin}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, James O.}} Category:1854 births Category:Norwegian emigrants to the United States Category:1922 deaths Category:Republican Party governors of Wisconsin Category:Lieutenant governors of Wisconsin Category:State treasurers of Wisconsin Category:Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Category:Lutherans from Wisconsin Category:People from Årdal Municipality Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Wisconsin Category:People from Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin Category:People from Boscobel, Wisconsin Category:Politicians from Grant County, Wisconsin Category:Merchants from Wisconsin Category:19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature Category:Norwegian-American culture in Wisconsin