Born on January 22, 1852, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Thomas Willis Alexander and Jane (née Robinson). Alexander attended Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri, and later moved to Gallatin, Missouri, where he served as mayor and then as a state representative in the Missouri General Assembly (1883–1887).[1] He served as a judge on Missouri's 17th Circuit until 1905.[1]
Alexander, a member of the United States Democratic Party, served as a United States representative from Missouri from 1907 until his resignation to become Commerce Secretary in 1919.[1] He served as chairman of the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and took a lead role in shaping wartime shipping legislation, which drew him to the attention of President Wilson.[2] He also gained prominence for his service as Chairman of the United States Commission to the international conference on the safety of life at sea in London in 1913.[3]
After his tenure as Secretary of Commerce, Alexander returned to the practice of law in Missouri.[3] He served as a delegate to the state's constitutional convention in 1922–23.
He died there on February 27, 1936, at the age of 84, eighteen years later, after retiring in Gallatin.[3] Alexander was interred in Brown Cemetery in Gallatin.
Joshua W. Alexander was a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Phi chapter).
Family
Alexander married, the former Roe Ann Richardson (February 3, 1859 - March 18, 1940), the daughter of a judge, on February 3, 1876.[3] The couple had eight children.[3]
