Joshua W. Alexander

Joshua Willis Alexander (January 22, 1852 in Cincinnati, Ohio – February 27, 1936) was United States Secretary of Commerce from December 16, 1919 - March 4, 1921 in the administration of President Woodrow Wilson.[1] He attended Christian University in Canton, Missouri and later moved to Gallatin, Missouri, where he served as mayor and then as a representative in the Missouri General Assembly (1882-1887).[2] He served as a judge on Missouri's 17th Circuit until 1905[3].

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.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6]

After his tenure as Secretary of Commerce, Alexander returned to the practice of law in Missouri.[7] He served as a delegate to the state's constitutional convention in 1922-23.[8]

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

Family

Alexander married Roe Ann Richardson, the daughter of a judge, on February 3, 1876.[9] The couple had eight children.[10]

Alexander's son, aviator Walter Alexander, was killed in a propellor accident at Bolling Field in 1920.[11] Another son, George Forrest Alexander, became a federal judge in Juneau, Alaska.[12]

External links

References

  1. ^ TO SUCCEED W.C. REDFIELD.; Joshua W. Alexander of Missouri New Secretary of Commerce, The New York Times, Dec. 3, 1919
  2. ^ TO SUCCEED W.C. REDFIELD.; Joshua W. Alexander of Missouri New Secretary of Commerce, The New York Times, Dec. 3, 1919
  3. ^ TO SUCCEED W.C. REDFIELD.; Joshua W. Alexander of Missouri New Secretary of Commerce, The New York Times, Dec. 3, 1919
  4. ^ TO SUCCEED W.C. REDFIELD.; Joshua W. Alexander of Missouri New Secretary of Commerce, The New York Times, Dec. 3, 1919
  5. ^ JW Alexander, Wilson Aide, Dies, The New York Times, Feb 28, 1936
  6. ^ Judge Alexander, 84, Passes in Missouri, The Atlanta Constitution, Feb 28, 1936
  7. ^ Judge Alexander, 84, Passes in Missouri, The Atlanta Constitution, Feb 28, 1936
  8. ^ Judge Alexander, 84, Passes in Missouri, The Atlanta Constitution, Feb 28, 1936
  9. ^ Judge Alexander, 84, Passes in Missouri, The Atlanta Constitution, Feb 28, 1936
  10. ^ Judge Alexander, 84, Passes in Missouri, The Atlanta Constitution, Feb 28, 1936
  11. ^ Airplane Propeller Kills Walter Alexander, Aviator Son of the Secretary of Commerce, New York Times, Sept. 22, 1920
  12. ^ JW Alexander, Wilson Aide, Dies, The New York Times, Feb 28, 1936
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Frank B. Klepper		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri's 3rd congressional district
1907-1919		 Succeeded by
Jacob L. Milligan
Political offices
Preceded by
William C. Redfield		 United States Secretary of Commerce
Served under: Woodrow Wilson
December 16, 1919–March 4, 1921		 Succeeded by
Herbert Hoover
Secretaries of Commerce & Labor
Secretaries of Commerce
Redfield • Alexander • Hoover • Whiting • Lamont • Chapin • Roper • Hopkins • Jones • Wallace • Harriman • Sawyer • Weeks • Strauss • Mueller • Hodges • Connor • Trowbridge • Smith • Stans • Peterson • Dent • Morton • Richardson • Kreps • Klutznick • Baldrige • Verity • Mosbacher • Franklin • Brown • Kantor • Daley • Mineta • Evans • Gutierrez • Locke • Bryson
Vice President
Thomas R. Marshall (1913–1921)
Secretary of State
William Jennings Bryan (1913–1915) • Robert Lansing (1915–1920) • Bainbridge Colby (1920–1921)
Secretary of the Treasury
William Gibbs McAdoo (1913–1918) • Carter Glass (1918–1920) • David F. Houston (1920–1921)
Secretary of War
Lindley Miller Garrison (1913–1916) • Newton D. Baker (1916–1921)
Attorney General
James Clark McReynolds (1913–1914) • Thomas Watt Gregory (1914–1919) • Alexander Mitchell Palmer (1919–1921)
Postmaster General
Albert S. Burleson (1913–1921)
Secretary of the Navy
Josephus Daniels (1913–1921)
Secretary of the Interior
Franklin Knight Lane (1913–1920) • John Barton Payne (1920–1921)
Secretary of Agriculture
David F. Houston (1913–1920) • Edwin Thomas Meredith (1920–1921)
Secretary of Commerce
William C. Redfield (1913–1919) • Joshua W. Alexander (1919–1921)
Secretary of Labor