SON OF COMMERCE SECRETARY KILLED IN FREAK ACCIDENT
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On December 21, 1920, Walter R. Alexander*, son of Commerce secretary Joshua W. Alexander**, was killed instantly when he was struck by an airplane propeller at Bolling Field.
Mr. Alexander was in the process of boarding the observer's seat of an airplane when he stepped into the path of the whirling propeller. The blow "hurled" him a distance of 10 feet.
Walter Alexander, 28 years old, worked in the legal department of the United States Shipping Board and resided with his parents at 1110 Rhode Island NW.
*Walter R. Alexander (1892-1920) graduated from George Washington University (A.B. 1914, L.L.B. 1916). WRA served in the U.S. Aviation Corps for 10 months.
**Joshua Willis Alexander (1852-1936) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio & earned his B.A. at Culver-Stockton College. JWA was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-Missouri) 1907-1919 & served as Secretary of Commerce under Woodrow Wilson 1919-1921.
SOURCE
"W.R. Alexander Killed In Aero Accident Here," The Washington Herald, December 22, 1920, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
