Waldo A. Evans (1869 – April 15, 1936) was a

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

of the United States Navy and military Governor of both the United States Virgin Islands and American Samoa. He was the last military governor of the U. S. Virgin Islands.

Life and naval career

Evans was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. During World War I, he commanded three

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s starting in 1917, , , and . In 1919, he was given command of the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

. From 1920 to 1922, Evans was made the military governor of American Samoa during a period of native unrest and immediately after the suicide of Governor

Warren Jay Terhune Warren Jay Terhune (May 3, 1869 – November 3, 1920) was a United States Navy Commander (United States)#Naval rank, Commander, and the governor of American Samoa. Terhune was born in Midland Park, New Jersey, and lived in New Jersey most of his ...

. His investigation focused on two sailors, one of whom was later

court martialed A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

, and one civilian, who was deported back to the United States. In 1922, he was made commander of the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, near Chicago. In 1925, he retired from the Navy. After the unexpected death of Governor Trench, Evans was asked out of retirement to govern the United States Virgin Islands. As Governor, Evans signed a bill which granted all citizens of the islands United States citizenship, effective February 28, 1927. In September 1928, the islands were hit by a hurricane, resulting in six deaths and $400,000 worth of property damage (approximately $4.3 million in inflation-adjusted 2005 dollars). He also faced opposition from the

sugar plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

in the territories by his insistence that they modernize, due to the potential cut on a sugar tax. In 1931, President Herbert Hoover placed the island under civilian rule, also ending Evans' term as Governor on March 18, 1931. In 1935, Evans' wife died in an automobile accident in California. Following her death, he fell into ill health and eventually had a stroke. He died in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1936.

References

*"Samoan Trouble Focused" ''The Los Angeles Times''. Nov 30, 1920. pg. I2, 1 pgs *"Naval Court Files Report on Samoa" ''Los Angeles Times''. Feb 28, 1921. pg. I2, 1 pgs *"Evans made Governor of Virgin Islands" ''New York Times''. Jan 19, 1927. pg. 17, 1 pgs *"Virgin Islanders' Joy at Citizenship" Aldolph Gereau. ''New York Times''. Mar 20, 1927. pg. XX16, 1 pgs *"Plea for Virgin Islands" ''New York Times''. Sep 17, 1928. pg. 3, 1 pgs *"Hoover's Order Ends Naval Rule in Virgin Isles" ''Chicago Daily Tribune''. Mar 3, 1931. pg. 15, 1 pgs *"Long Illness Proves Fatal To Capt. Evans" ''The Washington Post''. Apr 16, 1936. pg. 5, 1 pgs

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Waldo A. 1869 births 1936 deaths Governors of American Samoa Governors of the United States Virgin Islands United States Navy personnel of World War I Military personnel from Indianapolis United States Navy officers