Wallace M. Alexander
Wallace M. Alexander (1869–1939) was an American heir, businessman and philanthropist.
Wallace M. Alexander | |
---|---|
Born | November 10, 1869 |
Died | November 22, 1939 Honolulu, Hawaii |
Education | Yale University |
Occupation | Businessman, philanthropist |
Political party | Republican Party |
Spouse(s) | Mary S. Baker |
Parent(s) | Samuel Thomas Alexander Martha E. (Cooke) Alexander |
Relatives | William Patterson Alexander (paternal grandfather) Amos Starr Cooke (maternal grandfather) |
Biography
Early life
Wallace McKinney Alexander was born on November 10, 1869 in Maui, Hawaii.[1][2] His father, Samuel Thomas Alexander,[2] His mother was Martha E. (Cooke) Alexander.[2] His paternal grandfather, William Patterson Alexander, was a missionary in Hawaii.[2] His maternal grandfather, Amos Starr Cooke, was a Hawaii missionary and founder of the Castle & Cooke company.
Alexander grew up in Oakland, California and was educated at the Phillips Andover Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.[2] He graduated from Yale University in 1892.[1][3]
Career
He owned sugarcane plantations as well as sugar refining factories in Hawaii.[1] He served on the Board of Directors of Alexander and Baldwin.[1] He also served as the Vice President of the Matson Navigation Company and the Honolulu Oil Corporation.[1]
He served as President of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.[1][3] He was also a powerbroker in the Republican Party of San Francisco.[3] In 1928, he suggested prohibiting mutual immigration between the United States and Japan; the idea was rejected by Japan.[3]
Philanthropy
He served on the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.[1] He was also a member of the Japan Society of San Francisco and a co-founder of the Institute of Pacific Relations.[1][3] Additionally, he supported the Boy Scouts of America.[1]
He served as President of the San Francisco Opera.[1] He also served on the Board of Trustees of Stanford University in Stanford, near Palo Alto, having been first elected in 1924 and re-elected in 1934.[1]
He received the Legion of Honor from France in 1937.[1]
Personal life
He married Mary S. Baker in 1904.[2]
References
- Stanford Historical Society: Wallace M. Alexander
- Allen L. Chickering, 'Wallace M. Alexander, 1869-1939', California Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Dec., 1939), pp. 379-381
- Izumi Hirobe, Japanese Pride, American Prejudice: Modifying the Exclusion Clause of the 1924 Immigration Act, Stanford University Press, 2001, pp. 121-124