Archibald S. Alexander

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 in the Truman Administration and as New Jersey State Treasurer.

[edit] Early life and war service

Alexander was born in New York City on October 28 1906, the son of Archibald Stevens Alexander and Helen Tracy (Barney) Alexander.^[1] He was a great-great-great-grandson of John Stevens (c. 1715-1792), delegate in 1784 to the Continental Congress;^[2] great-great-grandson of John Stevens (1749-1838), inventor of an early screw-propelled steamboat and an early steam locomotive; a great-grandson of Brigadier General James Scollay Whitney (1811-1878), president of the Metropolitan Steamship Company; and a great-grandson of Ashbel H. Barney (1816-1886), president of Wells Fargo & Company. He received a B.A. degree from Princeton University in 1928 and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1931.

In New York City on June 24, 1929, he married Susan Dimock Tilton.^[3] She died in 1935. He married Jean Struthers Sears (1907-1983) at Beverly, Massachusetts, on August 4, 1937. His second wife was a sister of Emily Sears, who was married to Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.^[4]

After law school he joined the New York firm of Carter, Ledyard and Millburn, where he was a partner from 1940 to 1949.^[5] During World War II, Alexander served in the United States Army. He was commissioned as first lieutenant in 1942 and served in the European and Mediterranean Theatres. He was discharged from the Army in 1945, having risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel.^[6]

[edit] Political career

In 1947, Alexander was a member of the State Department'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 from 1949 to 1950 and Under Secretary from 1950 to 1952.^[6]

Alexander was active in Democratic politics in New Jersey. In 1948 he was the Democratic candidate for United States Senate but lost to Robert C. Hendrickson. He was again the Democratic nominee in 1952, losing to Howard Alexander Smith. From 1954 to 1955 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 in 1963, remaining in this position until 1969. From 1971 until his death he was president of the Arms Control Association.^[5]

Alexander died on September 4, 1979, at his home in Bernardsville, New Jersey after a short illness. ^[7]

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Biographical information for Archibald S. Alexander from The Political Graveyard