Mark Brandt Dayton is an American politician and the current and 40th Governor of Minnesota, serving since 2011. He was previously a United States Senator for Minnesota from 2001 to 2007, and the Minnesota State Auditor from 1991 to 1995. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic?Farmer?Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party. A native of Minnesota, Dayton is the great-grandson of businessman George Dayton, the founder of Dayton's, a department store that later became the Target Corporation. He embarked on a career in teaching and social work in New York City and Boston after graduating from Yale University in 1969. During the 1970s, he served as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Walter Mondale and Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich. In 1978, Dayton was appointed the Minnesota Economic Development Commissioner and married Alida Rockefeller Messinger, a member of the Rockefeller family. Dayton gained national attention in 1982 during his unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign against Republican Party incumbent David Durenberger. He defeated former U.S. 

January 26th, 1947 in Minneapolis (Age 77)