Björn attended a Canadian elementary school in Markland, Nova Scotia, but in 1879 he began studying at Thiel College in Pennsylvania. He did not finish his studies there due to an eye disease and moved west to Winnipeg where he stayed until 1882 when he settled in Pembina County, N. Dakota. There he worked as a merchant and was employed as the county’s deputy treasurer in the years 1885-1887. He studied law in N. Dakota and graduated on September 28, 1889. He engaged in land sales for N. Dakota and made a good fortune at it. He was elected mayor of Grand Forks in 1904 and held that office for some time. He became chairman of the nominating committee of the Democratic Party in the state, took part in the party convention in St. Louis in 1904, and participated in the nomination of the party’s candidate for the office of President of the United States.