David J. Davis (November 22, 1870 – November 19, 1942) was an American politician and military officer who served as the 13th

lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor of Pennsylvania, governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutena ...

from 1923 to 1927. Davis was a member of the Republican Party.

Life and career

Davis was born and raised in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1894, gained a commission as first lieutenant during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, and deployed to the US-Mexico border in 1916. He entered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a lieutenant colonel and rose to prominence by serving on the staff of General

John J. Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was an American army general, educator, and founder of the Pershing Rifles. He served as the commander of the American Expeditionary For ...

and as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

, colonel, and chief of staff of the 28th Infantry Division. After the war, he became one of the original directors of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

. Davis served as the 13th Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from 1923 to 1927 under Governor

Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsyl ...

. Following his service as lieutenant governor, Davis served for twenty years as the solicitor of Scranton and, from 1932 through 1935, he served as the adjutant general in command of the

Pennsylvania National Guard The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia. With more than 18,000 per ...

. He died in Scranton at the age of 71.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, David J. 1870 births 1942 deaths 20th-century Pennsylvania politicians American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Lieutenant governors of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania National Guard personnel Pennsylvania Republicans Politicians from Scranton, Pennsylvania United States Army personnel of World War I