Joshua Willis Alexander (January 22, 1852 – February 27, 1936) was

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 December 16, 1919, to March 4, 1921, in the administration of President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

.TO SUCCEED W.C. REDFIELD.; Joshua W. Alexander of Missouri New Secretary of Commerce, The New York Times, Dec. 3, 1919

Biography

Born on January 22, 1852, in

Cincinnati, Ohio 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 ...

, the son of Thomas Willis Alexander and Jane (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Robinson). Alexander attended Culver-Stockton College in

Canton, Missouri Canton is a city in Lewis County, Missouri, Lewis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,774 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Canton is the home of Culver-Stockton College, a small liberal arts college affiliated with ...

, and later moved to

Gallatin, Missouri Gallatin is a city in Daviess County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,821 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Daviess County. History The territory now known as the county of Daviess, was initially inhabited by the Sauk ...

, where he served as mayor and then as a state representative in the Missouri General Assembly (1883–1887). He served as a judge on Missouri's 17th Circuit until 1905. Alexander, a member of the

United States Democratic Party The Democratic Party is a Centre-left politics, center-left political parties in the United States, political party in the United States. One of the Major party, major parties of the U.S., it was founded in 1828, making it the world's oldes ...

, served as a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from Missouri from 1907 until his resignation to become Commerce Secretary in 1919. 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.JW Alexander, Wilson Aide, Dies, The New York Times, Feb 28, 1936 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.Judge Alexander, 84, Passes in Missouri, ''The Atlanta Constitution'', Feb 28, 1936 After his tenure as Secretary of Commerce, Alexander returned to the practice of law in Missouri. He served as a delegate to the state's constitutional convention in 1922–23. He died there on February 27, 1936, at the age of 84, eighteen years later, after retiring in Gallatin. Alexander was interred in Brown Cemetery in Gallatin. Joshua W. Alexander was a brother of the

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest Fraternities and sororities, fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active Colony (fraternity or sorority), colonies across No ...

fraternity (Phi chapter).

Family

Alexander married, the former Roe Ann Richardson (February 3, 1859 - March 18, 1940), the daughter of a judge, on February 3, 1876. The couple had eight children. Alexander's son, aviator Walter Alexander, was killed in a propeller accident at

Bolling Field The origins of the surname Bolling: English language, English: from a nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling "pollard", or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling "excessive drinking". German ...

in 1920.Airplane Propeller Kills Walter Alexander, Aviator Son of the Secretary of Commerce, New York Times, Sept. 22, 1920 Another son, George F. Alexander, became a federal judge in

Juneau, Alaska Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Southeast Alaska, Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the ...

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Joshua W. 1852 births 1936 deaths Alexander, Joshua Willis People from Gallatin, Missouri Woodrow Wilson administration cabinet members Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Speakers of the Missouri House of Representatives 20th-century Missouri politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives