George Andrew Alexander was a United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 Captain who served as the 35th Naval Governor of Guam. Prior to serving as governor, he commanded the USS Medusa

USS Medusa (AR-1)

USS Medusa was the United States Navy's first purpose-built repair ship. She served in the U.S. Navy from 1924 to 1946.-Technical characteristics:...

. As Governor of Guam, he greatly changed the judicial system by purging the island of leftover Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

ish laws and replacing them with the Code of Guam. He also led an unsuccessful campaign to obtain United States citizenship for all residents of Guam. After his term as governor, he commanded the USS Arizona

USS Arizona (BB-39)

USS Arizona, a , was built for the United States Navy in the mid-1910s. Named in honor of the 48th state's recent admission into the union, the ship was the second and last of the Pennsylvania class of "super-dreadnought" battleships. Although commissioned in 1916, the ship remained stateside...

 before retiring.

Life and naval career

Alexander grew up and lived most of his life in Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. He entered the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 from Ohio in 1902. He subsequently attended Naval War College

Naval War College

The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...

. In 1929, he took command of the Naval Oceanographic Office

Naval Oceanographic Office

The Naval Oceanographic Office , located at John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi, comprises approximately 1,000 civilian, military and contract personnel responsible for providing oceanographic products and services to all elements within the Department of Defense.Valued by maritime...

 in Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

. Alexander left his command of USS Medusa

USS Medusa (AR-1)

USS Medusa was the United States Navy's first purpose-built repair ship. She served in the U.S. Navy from 1924 to 1946.-Technical characteristics:...

 to serve as Governor of Guam.

Following his post as governor, he commanded the USS Arizona

USS Arizona (BB-39)

USS Arizona, a , was built for the United States Navy in the mid-1910s. Named in honor of the 48th state's recent admission into the union, the ship was the second and last of the Pennsylvania class of "super-dreadnought" battleships. Although commissioned in 1916, the ship remained stateside...

 from June 8, 1936 until December 11, 1937. Though the government of Guam

Government of Guam

The Government of Guam is a presidential representative democratic system, whereby the Governor is head of government, and of a multi-party system...

 recommended him for promotion to Rear Admiral, he retired from the Navy as a Captain.

Governorship

Alexander served as the governor from June 21, 1933 to March 27, 1936. He supported the local effort to obtain United States citizenship for all residents of Guam, sending a petition requesting the right and signed by 2,000 Guamanians to the President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

. He revolutionized the Guam legal system, replacing old Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

ish-style laws with the Code of Guam, a set of laws based on the California Codes

California Codes

The California Codes are 29 legal codes enacted by the California State Legislature, which together form the general statutory law of the state of California. Due to tradition and inertia, they have never been consolidated into a single unified code, unlike the United States Code or codifications...

. Though the Museum of Guam opened in 1933, Alexander officially made it a government institution by executive order

Executive order

An executive order in the United States is an order issued by the President, the head of the executive branch of the federal government. In other countries, similar edicts may be known as decrees, or orders in council. Executive orders may also be issued at the state level by a state's governor or...

.