Anna Dickie Olesen
A small-town preacher's wife who shattered a national political barrier by becoming the first woman nominated for the U.S. Senate by a major party.
1885–1971 (age 86)·American politician·Birthday: July 3·The Lost Generation
Biography
Anna Dickie Olesen's political awakening began not in a law office, but on the Chautauqua lecture circuit, where she honed a powerful speaking voice advocating for women's suffrage and Progressive causes. A Minnesota Democrat in a largely Republican state, she leveraged her grassroots organizing for the National Woman's Party into a stunning 1922 Senate nomination. Her campaign, run from a Model T, was a whirlwind of energy and ambition, though she ultimately lost in a Republican landslide. The run was less about winning that particular seat and more about proving a woman could stand on the biggest stage. Olesen's candidacy opened the door, and she spent subsequent decades as a forceful Democratic National Committee member, pushing the party to take women voters seriously.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Anna was born in 1885, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Anna Was Born
The biggest hits of 1885
Anna's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1885Born
Karl Benz builds the first gasoline-powered automobile
President: Grover Cleveland
1890Started school
Wounded Knee massacre marks the end of the Indian Wars
President: Benjamin Harrison
1898Became a teenager
Spanish-American War; US emerges as a world power
President: William McKinley
1901Could drive
Queen Victoria dies, ending the Victorian era
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1903Could vote
Wright brothers achieve first powered flight
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1906Turned 21
San Francisco earthquake devastates the city
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1915Turned 30
The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat
President: Woodrow Wilson
1925Turned 40
The Scopes Trial debates evolution in schools
Home: $4,366President: Calvin Coolidge"Sweet Georgia Brown" — Ben Bernie
1935Turned 50
Social Security Act signed into law
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,450President: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Cheek to Cheek" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Mutiny on the Bounty
1945Turned 60
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
1955Turned 70
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1965Turned 80
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1971Died at 86
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
Key Achievements
- Became the first woman nominated for the U.S. Senate by a major political party (the Democratic Party) in 1922.
- Served as a member of the Democratic National Committee for over twenty years, influencing party platform and outreach.
- Was a prominent national speaker for the women's suffrage movement on the Chautauqua circuit.
- Managed Senator Magnus Johnson's successful 1923 campaign, demonstrating her political acumen behind the scenes.
Did You Know?
She was the daughter of Scottish immigrants and worked as a postal clerk before her marriage.
Her husband, Peter Olesen, was a Lutheran minister who fully supported her political career.
She was a delegate to the 1924 Democratic National Convention that nominated John W. Davis.
Later in life, she was appointed to a federal position with the War Damage Corporation during World War II.
“A ballot in a woman's hand is the lever that moves the world.”
