Quentin N. Burdick - Early Life and Education

Early Life and Education

Quentin Burdick was born in Munich, North Dakota, as the oldest of three children of Usher Lloyd Burdick and Emma Cecelia Robertson. His father was a Republican politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota (1911–1913) and a U.S. Representative (1935–1959). His mother was the daughter of the first white settler in the area of North Dakota that lies west of Park River. He was the brother of Eugene Allan Burdick, who was judge of the fifth judicial district of North Dakota from 1953 to 1978. His sister Rosemary was married to Robert W. Levering, who was a U.S. Representative from Ohio (1959–1961).

In 1910, Burdick moved with his family to Williston, where his father engaged in farming and practiced law. As a child, he enjoyed breaking wild ponies on his father's ranch. He attended local public schools, and graduated in 1926 from Williston High School, where he was class president and captain of the football team. He then studied at the University of Minnesota, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1931. During college, he played on the football team as quarterback to Bronko Nagurski, and was president of the Sigma Nu fraternity. He also suffered a knee injury that disqualified him from military service in World War II. In 1932, he received his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School and was admitted to the bar.