Waldo A. Evans

Waldo A. Evans (* 1869 in Indianapolis , Indiana , † April 15, 1936 in Des Moines , Iowa ) was an American naval officer. Between 1920 and 1922 he was the military governor of American Samoa ; from 1927 to 1931 he held the same office in the US Virgin Islands .

Career

Nothing is known about Waldo Evans' youth and schooling. He must have graduated from a naval academy and was then an officer in the US Navy . During the First World War , he commanded the cruisers USS Olympia , USS New Orleans and USS St. Louis from 1917 and then the battleship USS Wyoming . Between 1920 and 1922 he was the military governor of American Samoa. He succeeded Warren Jay Terhune , who had committed suicide. At the time of his inauguration there was a riot over the politics of his predecessor, who was very unpopular with the locals. After his time in Samoa, Evans became the commanding officer of a naval base on the Great Lakes near Chicago . In 1925 he gave up military service.

After the sudden death of Martin Edward Trench , the governor of the Virgin Islands, Evans was persuaded to return to the Navy to take over. He held this office between January 6, 1927 and March 18, 1931. As governor, he achieved that all residents of his island received American citizenship. He also had to deal with the consequences of a hurricane there and had problems with the owners of sugar plantations, whom he asked to modernize their operations. In 1931, President Herbert Hoover put an end to military rule over the Virgin Islands. In the future, the office of governor there should be exercised by a civilian appointed by the US government. This made Evans the last military governor of the area.

After his time as governor ended, Waldo Evans retired. He died in Des Moines on April 15, 1936.

personal data
SURNAME	Evans, Waldo A.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American naval officer
DATE OF BIRTH	1869
PLACE OF BIRTH	Indianapolis , Indiana
DATE OF DEATH	April 15, 1936
Place of death	Des Moines , Iowa