Elmer A. Benson is born in Appleton, Minnesota. He served as governor from 1937 to 1939, representing the Farmer‒Labor Party. Under his watch, the state's first workers' compensation law was passed. His sympathy for communist principles led to distrust among members of his party, but he retained control of the Farmer‒Labor Party until 1944, when it merged with the Democratic Party. Increasingly radical, Benson became a marginal figure in Minnesota politics and returned to farm in Appleton until his death on March 13, 1985.