Archie A. Alexander, architectural engineer and former

governor of the Virgin Islands, died on this day in 1958

at the age of 69. He had been appointed governor of the

Virgin Islands by President Eisenhower in 1954. This

coachman's son earned an engineering degree from the State

University of Iowa, where he also played football. He later

became co-owner of the construction firm Alexander and Repass,

with offices in New York and Washington, D.C. In 1928 he was

awarded the NAACP's Spingard Medal for being an

outstanding African-American businessman.