Alexander Buel (Sandy) Trowbridge III (December 12, 1929April 27, 2006) was an American politician and businessman. He was the

United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

from June 14, 1967, to March 1, 1968, in the administration of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

Biography

Trowbridge was born on December 12, 1929, at 01:05 pm in Englewood, New Jersey. He was the son of American University Professor of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n History Alexander Buel Trowbridge Jr., and the grandson of Alexander Buel Trowbridge, the former dean of the

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

College of the Architecture (1897–1902). His grandmother Gertrude Mary Sherman was the great-great-granddaughter of American founding father

Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an American statesman, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign four of the great state papers of the United States related to the founding: the Con ...

. His mother, the former Julie Chamberlain, who was the executive director of the

Woodrow Wilson Foundation The Woodrow Wilson Foundation was an educational non-profit created in 1921, organized under the laws of New York, for the "perpetuation of Wilson's ideals" via periodic grants to worthy groups and individuals. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the chai ...

from 1942 to 1961."Julie C. Herzog, Headed the Wilson Foundation." ''New York Times.'' May 15, 1980. Trowbridge's parents divorced, and he was raised by his mother. As a young man, Trowbridge attended Phillips Academy in

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...

, in 1947, before graduating with an A.B. from the

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive course ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1951 after completing a senior thesis titled "The Spanish Loan. A Case Study of Executive-Congressional Relations in the Formulation and Control of American Foreign Policy."Saxon, Wolfgang
"Alexander Trowbridge, 76, Ex-Secretary of Commerce, Dies"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', April 28, 2006. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he worked with various reconstruction efforts. After working with the International Intern Program of the United Nations in

Lake Success, New York Lake Success is a village in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. The population was 2,897 at the 2010 census. The Incorporated Village of Lake Success was the temporary home of the Uni ...

, he served in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

in the

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

. Between 1954 and 1965, he was an oil businessman. In 1965, President

appointed him to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce. On January 19, 1967, he became acting Secretary of Commerce, and in June of that year he became

U.S. Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

, a position he served in until March 1, 1968. He resigned to return to business, serving first as the President of the

American Management Association The American Management Association (AMA) is an American non-profit educational membership organization for the promotion of management, based in New York City. Besides its headquarters there, it has local head offices throughout the world. It ...

, in May 1968,Robert Sobel (ed.). ''Biographical Directory of the United States Executive Branch, 1774–1989.'' 1990. p. 357 before the joining Allied Chemical as a Vice-Chairman of the Morristown, NJ-based parent company and the Chairman of their Canadian subsidiary, Allied Chemical Canada Ltd. of Pointe-Claire (QC). He later served as head of the

National Association of Manufacturers The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is an advocacy group headquartered in Washington, D.C., with additional offices across the United States. It is the nation's largest manufacturing industrial trade association, representing 14,000 s ...

from 1980 until 1989. In the early 1990s, he served as a member of the Competitiveness Policy Council. As Secretary of Commerce, he proposed to re-merge of the Department of Commerce and the

Department of Labor The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

. Trowbridge died in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, on April 27, 2006, at the age of 76, after suffering from

Lewy body dementia Lewy body dementias are two similar and common subtypes of dementia—dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). Both are characterized by changes in thinking, movement, behavior, and mood. The two conditions have si ...

. He is buried at the

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

References

External links

Arlington National Cemetery
*[https://archive.today/20121212194853/http://millercenter.virginia.edu/Ampres/essays/lbjohnson/cabinet/612?PHPSESSID=5ab112e910f9c94379e32507a43a1bb9 American President: Alexander B. Trowbridge (1967 - 1968)]
The College of Architecture: A True Art Sentiment
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trowbridge, Alexander B. 1929 births 2006 deaths People from Englewood, New Jersey Military personnel from New Jersey Princeton University alumni United States Secretaries of Commerce Lyndon B. Johnson administration cabinet members 20th-century American politicians Presidents of the American Management Association