George Andrew Alexander (8 September 1884–1969) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

who served as the 35th

Naval Governor of Guam The governor of Guam ( / ) is the head of government of Guam and the commander-in-chief of the Guam National Guard, whose responsibilities also include making the annual State of the Island (formerly the State of the Territory) addresses to t ...

. Prior to serving as governor, he commanded . As Governor of Guam, he greatly changed the judicial system by purging the island of leftover Spanish laws and replacing them with the

Code of Guam In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication cha ...

. He also led an unsuccessful campaign to obtain

United States citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constitu ...

for all residents of Guam. After his term as governor, he commanded before retiring.

Early life

Alexander grew up and lived most of his life in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Education

Alexander entered the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

from Ohio in 1902. He subsequently attended

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

Career

In 1929, Alexander took command of the

Naval Oceanographic Office The Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO), located at John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi, is an echelon IV component of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NMOC) and comprises approximately 1,000 civilian, military a ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. Alexander left his command of to serve as

Governor of Guam The governor of Guam ( / ) is the head of government of Guam and the commander-in-chief of the Guam National Guard, whose responsibilities also include making the annual State of the Island (formerly the State of the Territory) addresses to t ...

. Following his post as governor, he commanded from June 8, 1936, until December 11, 1937. Though the

government of Guam The Government of Guam (GovGuam) is a presidential representative democratic system, whereby the president is the head of state and the governor is head of government, and of a multi-party system. Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory ...

recommended him for promotion to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

, he retired from the Navy as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Governorship

Alexander served as the governor from June 21, 1933, to March 27, 1936. He supported the local effort to obtain

for all residents of Guam, sending a petition requesting the right and signed by 2,000 Guamanians to the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. He revolutionized the Guam legal system, replacing old

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

-style laws with the

, a set of laws based on the

California Codes The California Codes are 29 legal codes enacted by the California State Legislature, which, alongside uncodified acts, form the general statutory law of California. The official codes are maintained by the California Office of Legislative Counse ...

. Though the Guam Museum opened in 1933, Alexander officially made it a government institution by

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...

Personal life

Alexander was married. They had two daughters, Lois and Lauramae. Alexander and his family have lived in places including Long Beach, California, and Guam. Alexander's daughter is Lauramae Alexander Sholars (Mrs. Stanifer Sholars). In October 1970, Alexander died in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alexander is interred at Vine Street Hill Cemetery in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

References

External links

George Andrew Alexander at ourcampaigns.com

Lois Bennett at Los Angeles Times, Nov 14, 1937, Page 72

Alexanders Greet Grand-daughter at Los Angeles Times, Nov 25, 1937, Page 38
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, George A. 1884 births 1969 deaths Military personnel from Ohio United States Naval Academy alumni Governors of Guam United States Navy captains Burials at Vine Street Hill Cemetery