Archie alexander biography

Alexander did not confine his talents to developing his engineering firm. He also took part in the political life of Iowa, serving as the assistant chairman of the Iowa Republican State Committee in and again in His outstanding contribution to the Republican Party was rewarded in when he was appointed as governor of the Virgin Islands. Three of the Virgin Islands were purchased by the United States from Denmark in and they became an unincorporated territory of the United States.

In the islanders became US citizens and various acts established the government of the Islands. The Revised Organic Act of created a central government and Alexander was appointed as Governor in April of that year, see [ 1 ]. It was to turn out to be a disastrous appointment. As Wynes writes in [ 2 ] :- Dogmatic, paternalistic, undemocratic, and with an openly stated contempt for the easygoing Virgin Islanders Alexander's period as governor lasted only sixteen months before he was forced to resign.

It was a sad episode which almost certainly hastened Alexander's death and must have left him with much sadness after a life filled with so many achievements against all the odds that were stacked against him. Wynes sums up his life saying:- Engineer, businessman, loyal and active member of the Republican Party, civil rights and interracial leader, Alexander was, ironically, a failure only in the world of state diplomacy.

Virgin Islands. Alexander graduated from Oak Park High School in He graduated in After graduating, Alexander worked as a foreman for Marsh Engineering Company before forming his own engineering company at the age of Alexander, Inc. Higbee for eight years before Higbee's death. His significant projects during this time included the University of Iowa's heating and cooling system.

In , Alexander was honored with a Harmon award for his distinguished achievement in business and engineering. In , he took on his former classmate and football teammate Maurice A. The firm was hired to build a bridge and seawall at the Tidal Basin in Washington DC, where Alexander brought in an integrated construction crew. In , the University of Iowa granted him an honorary master's degree in engineering.

Alexander began his political career in , when he served as the assistant chairman of the Iowa Republican State Committee, a position that he held again in Eisenhower's White House bid in His tenure at the post was short and controversial. The United States House of Representatives launched a probe, and he subsequently resigned on August 18, , ostensibly for health reasons.

Alexander married Audra A. Linzy in Denver, Colorado , in Alexander died of a heart attack in in Des Moines, Iowa. Repass served as the inside man, checking contracts and handling mechanical details. Alexander's financial success made him a prominent figure around Des Moines and the nation. He led a number of civic and racial improvement efforts, and was a trustee at both Tuskegee Institute and Howard University.

Alexander's prominence did not allow him to escape the clutches of racism. One of the worst examples occurred in , when he purchased a large Des Moines home in a fashionable white neighborhood and had to fight a restrictive covenant. The morning after he moved into his new home, he and his wife, Audra, woke up to a cross burning on their front lawn.

The culmination of his public service was his selection by President Dwight Eisenhower to serve as governor of the Virgin Islands in That turned out to be an unhappy experience. His blunt, outspoken style and aggressive agenda to develop the islands did little to endear him with the population. After 18 months he resigned, partially because of declining health.

He also retired from active construction work and moved back to Des Moines, where he died of a heart attack in Dreck Spurlock Wilson ; and Charles E. He was also accused of using his office for personal business and for that of his cronies. At the one-year anniversary of his governorship, his resignation was called for, but Alexander was, at least publicly, unconcerned about the situation.

By then there was pressure to resign from both his opponents and the Eisenhower administration. The administration was prepared for this turn of events; Walter A. Gordon of Berkeley, California was appointed to succeed Alexander. By this time Alexander was sixty-seven and not in good health. He returned to Des Moines, and on January 4, he died of a heart attack at the age of seventy.

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Archie alexander biography

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