Archibald Stevens Alexander (October 28, 1906 – September 4, 1979) was an American lawyer, civil servant, and Democratic politician. He served as Under Secretary of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in the

Truman Administration Harry S. Truman's tenure as the 33rd president of the United States began on April 12, 1945, upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and ended on January 20, 1953. He had been vice president for only days. A Democrat from Missouri, he ran fo ...

and as

New Jersey State Treasurer The mission of the New Jersey Department of the Treasury is to formulate and manage the state's budget, generate and collect revenues, disburse the appropriations used to operate New Jersey state government, manage the state's physical and financia ...

Early life

Alexander was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on October 28, 1906. He was the son of

Archibald Stevens Alexander Col. Archibald Stevens Alexander (August 22, 1880 – August 30, 1912) was a lawyer, Democratic politician, and military aide to Woodrow Wilson from New Jersey. Early life Alexander was born on August 22, 1880. He was the son of Archibald Alexa ...

(1880–1912) and Helen Tracy (

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

Barney) Alexander (1882–1922). From his mother's second marriage to Frederic Newell Watriss, he had a younger half-brother, James Barney Watriss, a horse breeder and aviator. Through his father, he was a great-grandson of John Stevens, who developed early versions of a screw-propelled

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

and

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

, and a great-grandson of John Stevens, a delegate in 1784 to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

. Through his mother, he was a grandson of Lily (née

Whitney Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...

) Barney (sister of

William Collins Whitney William Collins Whitney (July 5, 1841February 2, 1904) was an American political leader and financier and a prominent descendant of the John Whitney family. He served as Secretary of the Navy in the first administration of President Grover Clev ...

) and

Charles T. Barney Charles Tracy Barney (January 27, 1851 – November 14, 1907) was the president of the Knickerbocker Trust Company, the collapse of which shortly before Barney's death sparked the Panic of 1907. Early life Charles T. Barney was born on January 27 ...

, the former president of the

Knickerbocker Trust Company The Knickerbocker Trust was a bank based in New York City that was, at one time, among the largest banks in the United States. It was a central player in the Panic of 1907. History The bank was chartered in 1884 by Frederick G. Eldridge, a frie ...

, and great-grandson of

Ashbel H. Barney Ashbel Holmes Barney (September 2, 1816 – December 27, 1886) was an American banker and expressman who served as president of Wells Fargo & Company in 1869-1870. Early life Barney was born on September 2, 1816 at Adams, New York in Jefferson C ...

, president of

Wells Fargo & Company Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

and Brig.-Gen.

James Scollay Whitney James Scollay Whitney (May 19, 1811 – October 24, 1878) was an American business executive and politician. He was the father of Henry Melville Whitney and William Collins Whitney, founders of the Whitney family business interests. Early life W ...

, president of the

Metropolitan Steamship Company The Metropolitan Steamship Company was for 75 years one of the chief transportation links between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts. It was closely associated with the Whitney family until its acquisition by Charles W. Morse in 1906. Even af ...

. Alexander received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

(1928) and an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

(1931).

Career

After completing law school Alexander joined the New York firm of

Carter, Ledyard & Milburn Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP is a New York City law firm. The firm was founded in 1854 by Henry Scudder and James C. Carter. Former partners * Grenville Clark, a member of the Harvard Corporation, co-author of the book '' World Peace Throug ...

, where he was a partner from 1940 to 1949.Biographical sketch
Manuscript Collection 1190, Special Collections and University Archives,

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

Libraries, accessed 8 June 2008 During

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 opposin ...

Alexander served in the

. He was commissioned as

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

in 1942 and served in the

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

Theatres. He was discharged from the Army in 1945, having risen to the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

.Official bio
Former Under Secretaries, US Army, accessed 8 June 2008

Political and civic career

In 1947 Alexander was appointed to the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

's Foreign Service Selection Board and served as a consultant to the Atomic Energy Commission on security and personnel matters. He was Assistant

Secretary of the Army The secretary of the Army (SA or SECARMY) is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, insta ...

from 1949 to 1950 and

Under Secretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

from 1950 to 1952. Alexander was active in Democratic politics in New Jersey. In 1948 he was the Democratic candidate for

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

but lost to

Robert C. Hendrickson Robert Clymer Hendrickson (August 12, 1898December 7, 1964) was an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States senator from New Jersey. Early life and education Born in Woodbury, New Jersey, Hendrickson attended publ ...

. He was again the Democratic nominee in 1952, losing to

Howard Alexander Smith Howard Alexander Smith (January 30, 1880October 27, 1966) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 1944 to 1959. He was the uncle of Peter H. Dominick, who ...

. From 1954 to 1957 he served as Treasurer of the State of New Jersey. In 1956 he was Director of Volunteers for the presidential campaign of Adlai Stevenson. Alexander was President of the Free Europe Committee from 1959 to 1963. In 1963 he was appointed Assistant Director of the

Arms Control and Disarmament Agency The U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) was an independent agency of the United States government that existed from 1961 to 1999. Its mission was to strengthen United States national security by "formulating, advocating, negotiating, ...

, remaining in this position until 1969. From 1971 until his death he was president of the

Arms Control Association The Arms Control Association is a United States-based nonpartisan membership organization founded in 1971, with the self-stated mission of "promoting public understanding of and support for effective arms control policies." The group publishes th ...

. Alexander had a long involvement with

. As state treasurer, he was a public member of the university's Board of Trustees. In 1956 he was appointed to the newly created Board of Governors for Rutgers and also rejoined the Board of Trustees, serving on both until 1973. Alexander chaired the Board of Governors from 1959 to 1963 and again from 1971 to 1973. The central

university library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic librar ...

is named in his honor.

Personal life

He married Susan Dimock Tilton (1907–1935) in New York City on June 24, 1929. She was a daughter of Benjamin Trowbridge Tilton and Anna Billings (née Griggs) Tilton and her elder sister, Harty Griggs Tilton, was the wife of

James Jeremiah Wadsworth James Jeremiah "Jerry" Wadsworth (June 12, 1905 – March 13, 1984)"James J(eremiah) Wadsworth." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. was an American politician and diplomat from New Yor ...

, the 4th

United States Ambassador to the United Nations The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nations ...

. Together, Susan and Archibald were the parents of: * Archibald Stevens Alexander (1933–2016), a lawyer who taught at

Rutgers Law School Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...

, where he created a seminar on providing civil legal services to state prison inmates. After her death in 1935, he married Jean Struthers Sears (1907–1983) at

Beverly, Massachusetts Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, and a suburb of Boston. The population was 42,670 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. A resort, residential, and manufacturing community on the Massachusetts North Shore, Beverly incl ...

, on August 4, 1937; her sister was Emily Sears, who married

Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (July 5, 1902 – February 27, 1985) was an American diplomat and Republican United States senator from Massachusetts in both Senate seats in non-consecutive terms of service and a United States ambassador. He was considered ...

Alexander died on September 4, 1979 at his home in

Bernardsville, New Jersey Bernardsville () is a borough in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is nestled in the heart of the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,707,

after a short illness."Archibald Alexander, 72; Lawyer Served as Army Under Secretary", ''The New York Times'', 6 September 1979.

Notes

External links

Biographical information for Archibald S. Alexander
from

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Archibald S. 1906 births 1979 deaths People from Bernardsville, New Jersey Lawyers from New York City Whitney family Princeton University alumni Harvard Law School alumni New Jersey lawyers United States Army colonels 20th-century American lawyers United States Under Secretaries of the Army New Jersey Democrats Politicians from New York City