William Alexander (1848–1937) was an author of over ten works, over sixty-five year employee of

The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States Equitable Holdings, Inc. (formerly The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, and also known as The Equitable) is an American financial services and insurance company that was founded in ...

, and a founder of

Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as Pike is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and provisional chapters across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate mem ...

Biography

Alexander was born to theologian

James Waddel Alexander James Waddel Alexander (March 13, 1804 – July 31, 1859) was an American Presbyterian minister and theologian who followed in the footsteps of his father, the Rev. Archibald Alexander. Early life Alexander was born in 1804 in Louisa County ...

on September 5, 1848. His paternal grandfather was

Archibald Alexander Archibald Alexander (April 17, 1772 – October 22, 1851) was an American Presbyterian theologian and professor at the Princeton Theological Seminary. He served for 9 years as the President of Hampden–Sydney College in Virginia and for 39 year ...

, a preacher and theologian, President of

Hampden-Sydney College Hampden Sydney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census. Hampden Sydney is the home of Hampden–Sydney College, a private all-male college that is the tenth ...

and founder of

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...

. William's mother was a member of the prestigious Cabell family who assisted

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

in the founding of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. Although Alexander was born in New York, much of his childhood schooling was at a Virginia school. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

he lived in England with his mother, as his father died in 1859. While attending The

he became the youngest of the six founders of

. Sunday evening March 1, 1868, William Alexander, Frederick Southgate Taylor, Littleton Waller Tazewell (Bradford), James Benjamin Sclater Jr., Julian Edward Wood, and

Robertson Howard Robertson Howard (December 11, 1847 – December 1, 1899) was a medical doctor, attorney, and publisher. He is best known as one of the six co-founders of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. Early life Howard was born in Brookeville, Maryland on Dec ...

founded Pi Kappa Alpha at 47 West Range. Despite close contact with his uncle and three fellow fraternity founders all involved in medicine, Alexander sought to pursue the realm of business with Taylor and Tazewell. Shortly after leaving the University of Virginia, Alexander was offered a temporary position with

, where his uncle,

William Cowper Alexander William Cowper Alexander (May 20, 1806 – August 23, 1874) was an American lawyer, politician, and insurance executive. He served as President of the New Jersey State Senate and as President of the Equitable Life Assurance Society. Early ...

, had served as first president. However the position became good for over sixty-five years once Alexander's drive and business capacity were realized. He gained positions of assistant secretary, and then company secretary. For over fifty years he oversaw the company as supervisor of publications, editor of periodicals, and the advertising in general. He wrote several histories of the company and was honored on many occasions for services rendered. He published over ten books, most of which dealt with life insurance, sales, or both. The youngest and eldest of the original founders, Alexander preserved his interest of

, including its massive growth and success. He stayed involved with the fraternity, its founding, ritual, history, and current affairs. He published articles in the fraternity quarterly newsletter quite regularly. Alexander married Frances Gordon Paddock in 1887 and they had a daughter. Frances died in 1931. He died at nearly ninety years old in 1937 and is buried in the

Princeton Cemetery Princeton Cemetery is located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the Nassau Presbyterian Church. In his 1878 history of Princeton, New Jersey, John F. Hageman refers to the cemetery as "The Westminster Abbey of the United S ...

, Princeton, New Jersey.

References

*Hart and Blount. (Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity 1968). ''A History of Pi Kappa Alpha''. Press of Democrat Printing & Litho Company, Little Rock, Ark. * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, William 1848 births 1937 deaths American activists Pi Kappa Alpha founders University of Virginia alumni American business writers Burials at Princeton Cemetery Writers from New York (state)