Andrew John Volstead

Andrew John Volstead (October 31 1860 – January 20 1947) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota from 1903 to 1923. An absolute teetotaler, he wrote the Volstead Act which enforced Prohibition in 1919. He was a member of the United States Republican Party.

Volstead was born in Kenyon, Minnesota to Norwegian parents. He was educated at St. Olaf College and became a lawyer. While in Congress, he served as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee from 1919 to 1923. He was defeated in his attempt to be elected to an 11th term in Congress in 1922. He then resumed the practice of law in Granite Falls, Minnesota where he died.