Ralph Moses Paiewonsky (November 9, 1907 in Saint Thomas,

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with ; Saint John ( da, St. Jan) with ; and Saint Croix with . The ...

– November 9, 1991, in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) was a businessman and politician who served as the ninth civilian governor of the

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

from 1961–1969. Ralph Paiewonsky was the son of Jewish Lithuanian immigrants to the

. He graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

in 1930. His degree was in chemistry. His father owned A.H. Riise & Co. Ltd. an apothecary, general store, and a bay rum distillery in St. Thomas. After he returned to the Virgin Islands his father bought the government-owned beverage rum distillery on St. Croix. Ralph Paiewonsky found out that the shortage of water-limited expansion. He proceeded to develop yeast strains that could ferment a mixture of molasses and seawater. After he and his brother Isidor Paiewonsky managed various family businesses, and was the founder of the West Indies Bank and Trust Company in 1954 later acquired by Chase Manhattan. In 1961, he was appointed Governor by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

. Paiewonsky's administration established the Department of Housing and Community Renewal in 1962, and began a program of land acquisition and home construction. Approximately 8,000 new homes were built under this program during Paiewonsky's term. He also supported public education reforms and the establishment of the

University of the Virgin Islands The University of the Virgin Islands (or UVI) is a public historically black land-grant university in the United States Virgin Islands. History UVI was founded as the College of the Virgin Islands on March 16, 1962. In 1986, it officially be ...

in 1962. When he appeared on the TV show "To Tell The Truth" he donated his winnings to the University of the Virgin Islands. Paiewonsky served as chairman of the university's board of directors until his death; the university's library on St. Thomas is named for Paiewonsky. Paiewonsky was a delegate to

Democratic National Conventions The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

between 1940 and 1960, and served as National Democratic Committeeman from the Virgin Islands. He was awarded

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

s from

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

and

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in 1967. In 1991, he published an autobiography, "Memoirs of A Governor."

External links

Profile, "Prominent U.S. Virgin Islanders
1907 births 1991 deaths Governors of the United States Virgin Islands University of the Virgin Islands faculty United States Virgin Islands Jews United States Virgin Islands people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Jewish American government officials People from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands politicians 20th-century American Jews New York University alumni {{USVirginIslands-bio-stub