Charles Raymond Robertson

Charles Raymond Robertson (September 5, 1889 – February 18, 1951) was a Republican politician who represented North Dakota in the United States House of Representatives during the 1940s. Serving three terms in Congress between 1941 and 1949, he participated in the federal legislative process during a period marked by the Second World War and the early years of the postwar era, representing the interests of his North Dakota constituents in the national legislature.

Robertson was born on September 5, 1889, on a farm near Arlington, Columbia County, Wisconsin, to Scottish immigrant parents. Raised in a rural environment, he attended the local public schools and graduated from Poynette High School in Poynette, Wisconsin. His upbringing in a farming community and in a household of recent immigrants helped shape his understanding of agricultural and working-class concerns, which would later inform his public service.

After completing high school, Robertson pursued further education in commerce. He attended Parker College in Winnebago, Minnesota, where he studied commercial subjects, preparing for a career in business. Following his studies, he entered the workforce in the private sector, gaining experience in business and commerce that would later support his transition into public life. In 1917 he moved to Mandan, Morton County, North Dakota, a relocation that placed him in the state he would later represent in Congress.

In Mandan, Robertson became active in business and community affairs, establishing himself as a local leader. His involvement in civic matters and his Republican Party affiliation led to increasing political engagement. By the late 1930s he had built sufficient standing within the party and among voters to seek national office, drawing on his background in commerce and his familiarity with the needs of a largely agricultural state.

Robertson was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives from North Dakota and first served in the Seventy-seventh Congress from January 3, 1941, to January 3, 1943. His initial term coincided with the final prewar year and the early period of U.S. involvement in World War II, when Congress grappled with issues of national defense, wartime mobilization, and support for American servicemembers and their families. In 1942 he failed to be renominated to the House, temporarily interrupting his congressional career.

He returned to national office two years later. Robertson was again elected to the House in 1944 and reelected in 1946, serving in the Seventy-ninth and Eightieth Congresses from January 3, 1945, to January 3, 1949. During these two terms he participated in the legislative response to the end of World War II, the transition to a peacetime economy, and the early stages of the Cold War. As a member of the House of Representatives, he contributed to the democratic process and represented North Dakota’s interests in areas such as agriculture, natural resources, and regional economic development. In total, he served three terms in Congress, from 1941 to 1943 and from 1945 to 1949, as a member of the Republican Party.

After leaving Congress in January 1949, Robertson remained associated with public affairs in North Dakota. His name became particularly linked with the state’s important lignite coal resources and energy research. In recognition of his service and his support for the development of North Dakota’s natural resources, the Robertson Lignite Research Laboratory in Grand Forks, North Dakota, was named in his honor in 1951, underscoring his legacy in promoting scientific and economic advancement in the state.

Charles Raymond Robertson died of a heart attack in Bismarck, North Dakota, on February 18, 1951. He was interred at Lakewood Cemetery, where his burial marked the close of a career that had taken him from a Wisconsin farm to the halls of the United States Congress. His life and work reflected the experiences of a first-generation American from an immigrant family who rose to national office and helped shape federal policy during a pivotal decade in American history.