Elmer Ryan

Who was Elmer Ryan?

Elmer James Ryan was a United States Representative from Minnesota.

He was born in Rosemount, Dakota County, Minnesota, May 26, 1907. He attended the public schools, was graduated from the law department of the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis in 1929, was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in South St. Paul, Minnesota. He was the city attorney of South St. Paul from 1933 to 1934.

He was delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1936 and 1940, and was elected as a Democrat to the 74th, 75th, and 76th Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1940 to the 77th Congress.

He resumed the practice of law, then entered active duty in the United States Army on June 23, 1942, as a lieutenant in the Selective Service. He was promoted to captain and transferred to the Judge Advocate General’s department, later promoted to major and was discharged on October 1, 1945. He again resumed the practice of law in South St. Paul, Minnesota.

He died in an automobile accident on Wisconsin Highway 35, five miles north of Somerset, Wisconsin, February 1, 1958; he was interred in St. Joseph's Cemetery.