Archie Alexander

Caricature for Archie Alexander from 1943

Archibald Alphonse "Archie" Alexander (born May 14, 1888 in Ottumwa , Iowa , †  January 4, 1958 in Iowa) was an American civil engineer and politician . He was Governor of the US Virgin Islands in 1954 and 1955 .

Career

Archie Alexander first attended various schools in Iowa. He was one of the first African Americans to graduate from the University of Iowa , where he studied civil engineering . In the meantime he worked for the Des Moines National Bank . Later he also worked for a construction company that mainly built bridges. He saw his professional future in bridge architecture. He studied this subject in London and at the University of Iowa. In 1929 he founded the company Alexander & Repass , with which he remained associated for the rest of his life. The company primarily built bridges and roads, but also airfields and even the Iowa State University's climate system .

In 1934 he was one of twelve members of a commission to study social and economic conditions in Haiti . In 1946 he was made an honorary doctorate in civil engineering from Howard University in Washington, DC . Politically, he was a member of the Republican Party . In 1954 Alexander was named governor of the US Virgin Islands by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to succeed Morris Fidanque de Castro . He held this office between April 9, 1954 and October 17, 1955. He was the first republican governor there since civil administration was introduced in 1931. However, Alexander soon came under suspicion of assigning his old business partners in the building trade with corresponding contracts to prefer. These events have even been investigated by the US House of Representatives . Thereupon Alexander resigned from his office, officially for health reasons. He died in Iowa on January 4, 1958.

Web links

• Biography (English).