Charles Armijo Woodruff (January 12, 1884 – November 23, 1945) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

officer and the

governor of American Samoa This is a list of governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900. From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government of the United States. Since ...

from December 6, 1914, to March 1, 1915. He captained multiple ships in both the Navy and the

United States Merchant Marine United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...

. He served only briefly as governor, for a few months before ceding the office to John Martin Poyer.

Life

Woodruff was born on January 12, 1884, in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

, the son of Charles Woodruff and Louise (Duff) Woodruff. After leaving the

, Woodruff became a part of the

, captaining a ship. On November 23, 1945, Woodruff die by suicide by hanging in an apartment in

Hotel Bossert The Hotel Bossert is a historic hotel in Brooklyn, New York. Opened in 1909, it was bought by the Jehovah's Witnesses in 1983 and used by them until 2012, when it was sold for conversion back to a hotel. The conversion work has stalled multiple tim ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

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 ...

, using the venetian blinds cord in his room. A suicide note claimed he had killed himself because he had no means of making money and "missed his boat", and that suicide provided the "easiest way out".

Naval career

Woodruff was appointed to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

on September 24, 1902. In 1906, he commanded the USS ''Pampanga'' (PG-39) as a

Lieutenant (junior grade) Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), is ...

. Woodruff retired from the Navy with the rank of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Governorship

Woodruff relieved Nathan Post of the governor's office on December 6, 1914, serving until March 1, 1915.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodruff, Charles Armijo 1884 births 1945 deaths Governors of American Samoa United States Naval Academy alumni Suicides by hanging in New York City United States Merchant Mariners United States Navy officers Politicians from Santa Fe, New Mexico Military personnel from New Mexico American politicians who committed suicide American military personnel who committed suicide Suicides in New York City