Joshua W. Alexander

Joshua W. Alexander

Joshua Willis Alexander (born January 22, 1852 in Cincinnati , Ohio , †  February 27, 1936 in Gallatin , Missouri ) was an American politician who held the office of Secretary of Commerce in the cabinet of President Woodrow Wilson .

After attending school, Alexander graduated from Christian University (now Culver-Stockton College ) in Canton (Missouri). There he graduated in law in 1872 , after which he first opened a private law firm. Between 1877 and 1881 he was employed in the administration of Daviess County ; from 1882 to 1901 he was a member of the Board of Education of Gallatin, temporarily as its president.

Joshua Alexander's political career began in 1883 in the Missouri House of Representatives , to which he was a member until 1887; in his last year he was the speaker there . From 1891 to 1892 he served as Mayor of Gallatin.

After serving as Missouri Seventh District Judge from 1901 to 1907 , he resigned to represent Missouri as a Democrat in the US House of Representatives. After being re-elected several times, he remained in Congress until December 15, 1919 . The day after his resignation, he took over the post of US Secretary of Commerce. When President Wilson's term of office ended, Alexander left the cabinet on March 4, 1921.

The following year Joshua Alexander was a delegate to the Missouri Constitutional Convention before retiring for good. He died in Gallatin in 1936.

Web links

• Joshua W. Alexander in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Joshua W. Alexander in the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)