Joshua Alexander
2nd United States Secretary of Commerce
In office
December 16, 1919 – March 4, 1921
PresidentWoodrow Wilson
Preceded byWilliam C. Redfield
Succeeded byHerbert Hoover
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri's 3rd district
In office
March 4, 1907 – December 15, 1919
Preceded byFrank B. Klepper
Succeeded byJacob L. Milligan
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives
In office
1883–1887
Personal details
Born
Joshua Willis Alexander

(1852-01-22)January 22, 1852
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
DiedFebruary 27, 1936(1936-02-27) (aged 84)
Gallatin, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRoe Richardson
Children8, including George
EducationCulver-Stockton College (BA)

Joshua Willis Alexander (January 22, 1852 – February 27, 1936) was United States secretary of commerce from December 16, 1919, to March 4, 1921, in the administration of President Woodrow Wilson.[1]

Biography

Born on January 22, 1852, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Thomas Willis Alexander and Jane (née Robinson). Alexander attended Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri, and later moved to Gallatin, Missouri, where he served as mayor and then as a state representative in the Missouri General Assembly (1883–1887).[1] He served as a judge on Missouri's 17th Circuit until 1905.[1]

Alexander, a member of the United States Democratic Party, served as a United States representative from Missouri from 1907 until his resignation to become Commerce Secretary in 1919.[1] He served as chairman of the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and took a lead role in shaping wartime shipping legislation, which drew him to the attention of President Wilson.[2] He also gained prominence for his service as Chairman of the United States Commission to the international conference on the safety of life at sea in London in 1913.[3]

After his tenure as Secretary of Commerce, Alexander returned to the practice of law in Missouri.[3] He served as a delegate to the state's constitutional convention in 1922–23.

He died there on February 27, 1936, at the age of 84, eighteen years later, after retiring in Gallatin.[3] Alexander was interred in Brown Cemetery in Gallatin.

Joshua W. Alexander was a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Phi chapter).

Family

Alexander married, the former Roe Ann Richardson (February 3, 1859 - March 18, 1940), the daughter of a judge, on February 3, 1876.[3] The couple had eight children.[3]

Alexander's son, aviator Walter Alexander, was killed in a propeller accident at Bolling Field in 1920.[4] Another son, George F. Alexander, became a federal judge in Juneau, Alaska.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 TO SUCCEED W.C. REDFIELD.; Joshua W. Alexander of Missouri New Secretary of Commerce, The New York Times, Dec. 3, 1919
  2. 1 2 JW Alexander, Wilson Aide, Dies, The New York Times, Feb 28, 1936
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Judge Alexander, 84, Passes in Missouri, The Atlanta Constitution, Feb 28, 1936
  4. ↑ Airplane Propeller Kills Walter Alexander, Aviator Son of the Secretary of Commerce, New York Times, Sept. 22, 1920
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joshua W. Alexander.
  • United States Congress. "Joshua W. Alexander (id: A000098)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
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