Primary Name: Rustgard, John

Filed as: Rustgard, John

Also known as: John Rustgard

Occupation / Association: Lawyer; mayor of Nome; U.S. District Attorney, First Judicial Division of Alaska; Alaska Territorial Attorney General; Charter member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men's Igloo

Associated places: Norway; Red Wing, Minnesota; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Nome, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Babson Park, Florida

Keywords: John Rustgard, Rustgard Alaska attorney general, Nome mayor 1902, Alaska Territorial Attorney General 1920 1933, U.S. District Attorney First Judicial Division Alaska, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men's Igloo charter member, Alaska political history

Biography

John Rustgard was a charter member of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men's Igloo, and a prominent attorney and public official in the early Alaska territorial government.

He was born in Norway in 1867 and later attended school in Red Wing, Minnesota. Rustgard earned a law degree from the University of Minnesota in 1890. Following graduation, he taught school in Minneapolis from 1890 to 1892 and then practiced law there from 1892 to 1900.

Rustgard moved to Nome, Alaska, during the gold rush era, where he practiced law and became active in civic affairs. He served as mayor of Nome in 1902 and as city attorney for two terms between 1900 and 1909.

He later relocated to Juneau where he served as United States District Attorney for the First Judicial Division of Alaska from 1910 to 1914. After leaving that position, he practiced law privately in Juneau from 1914 to 1920.

In 1920, Rustgard was appointed Alaska Territorial Attorney General, a position he held until 1933. During his career, he also ran for Alaska’s delegate to the United States Congress in 1930.

Rustgard retired in 1934 and moved to Babson Park, Florida. He died there on February 10, 1950.

Who's Who in Alaskan Politics: Biographical Dictionary of Alaskan Political Personalities, 1884–1974, Evangeline Atwood and Robert N. DeArmond, p. 87.