Phelps Phelps

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Phelps Phelps

Phelps Phelps (born May 4, 1897 in Bonn , German Empire , †  June 10, 1981 in Wildwood , New Jersey ) was an American politician . He was governor of American Samoa in 1951 and 1952 .

Career

Phelps Phelps was born under the name Phelps von Rottenburg in Bonn. He was the grandson of Congressman William Walter Phelps (1839-1894) from New Jersey. After his parents divorced in 1899, he moved to Teaneck with his mother . In 1916 he studied at Yale University , but was expelled from an exam for fraud. He then completed flight training with the military in Ithaca ( New York ) in 1917 . For a short time he served in the Royal Flying Corps of the Canadian Armed Forces. In 1922, he attended Williams College in Williamstown ( Massachusetts ). After a subsequent law degree at Fordham University and his admission to the bar in 1925, he began to work in this profession in New York State.

During the Second World War he served in the United States Army from 1942 . He was also involved in the war crimes trials against Japanese government officials. On February 23, 1951, Phelps was named the first civilian governor of American Samoa by President Harry S. Truman . He held this office until July 16, 1952. During this time, the US Navy switched from the previous military administration to the new civil administration. Phelps encouraged the economic efforts of his territory. After the end of his time as governor, he was US ambassador to the Dominican Republic in 1952 and 1953 as the successor to Ralph H. Ackerman .

Politically, Phelps initially joined the Republican Party . Between 1924 and 1928 he was a member of the New York State Assembly . In 1928 he ran unsuccessfully for Congress in his party's primary elections . In 1932 he switched to the Democrats . In 1936, 1956 and 1960 he took part as a delegate at the respective Democratic National Conventions . Between 1937 and 1938 he was again a member of the State Assembly ; from 1939 to 1942 he was a member of the New York Senate . He later hosted a radio show. He was an agent for the Palisades Interstate Park Commission . After Jimmy Carter was nominated as a Democratic presidential candidate in 1976, Phelps returned to the Republican Party.

Phelps Phelps died on June 10, 1981 in Wildwood. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery , Virginia .

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