Richard P. Gale
Richard Pillsbury Gale (October 30, 1900 – December 4, 1973) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Minnesota. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Edward Cheney and Sarah Bell (née Pillsbury) Gale. His grandfather was Minnesota governor John S. Pillsbury. He attended the public schools of Minneapolis, The Blake School, Minnesota Farm School, and University of Minnesota at Minneapolis. He graduated from Yale University in 1922 and became engaged in agricultural pursuits and securities in 1923. He married Isobel Rising on August 8, 1923 in St. Paul, Minnesota. They had two  sons, Alfred and Richard. Gale was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1938 and served from 1939 to 1941. He was a member of the Mound School Board for eight years and was a trustee of Blake School at Hopkins. He was elected as a Republican to the 77th and 78th congresses, (January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1945). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1944 to the 79th congress. He advocated for biological warfare, or in his words, "spore war," against German and Japanese food supplies during World War II, suggesting that planes spread grain rust , potato fungus, and rice fungus on crops. Gale's collection of Japanese prints and scroll paintings from the Tokugawa period was considered to be one of the best privately-owned collections in the United States. He returned to agricultural pursuits and resided at Wickham Farm near Mound. He died in Minneapolis on December 4, 1973; interment in Lakewood Cemetery.