R.O. Richards and the Business of Whaling in South Dakota

Memorial Library 47

In 1911, Richard Olsen Richards, a Norwegian immigrant living in South Dakota, organized the United States Whaling Company with headquarters in Huron. Richards, a Republican Party operative and one of the richest people in the state, emigrated from a whaling community as a teenager and continued to keep close ties with family members, a number of whom engaged in Norwegian commercial whaling activities. In this presentation, I will share insights from research during my sabbatical.