Herman Carl Andersen was born in Newcastle, Washington. He was the son of Charles Carl Andersen (1858-1940?) and Lorena Nielson (1868–1946). Charles C. Andersen had emigrated from Denmark to the United States in the late 1870s. The family moved to a farm near Tyler, Minnesota in 1901. Andersen's father returned to mining and became superintendent of a large coal mine owned by Northern Pacific Railway at Red Lodge, Montana, where Andersen graduated from high school in 1913. He attended the University of Washington and later the U.S. Naval Academy. While aboard the battleship USS Wyoming (BB-32) in 1917, a gun blast partially impaired his hearing and he was unable to qualify for further service.
In the 1962 election, his district was eliminated as part of redistricting. He also faced backlash from the Republican party related to a business deal with fraudster Billie Sol Estes. He lost the Republican primary election to Robert J. Odegard (who in turn lost to Democrat Alec G. Olson in the general election) and did not return to politics.[5]
Later years
After leaving politics, Andersen retired to Falls Church, Virginia where he ran a small business and managed his farming interests in Minnesota. He died in 1978. He was cremated and his ashes interred in Danebod Lutheran Cemetery in Tyler, Minnesota.[5]
