Clarence S. Ridley

Clarence S. Ridley ( born June 22, 1883 in Corydon, Harrison County, Indiana; † 26 July 1969, Carmel, Monterey County, California ) was an American officer. Between 1936 and 1940 he was Governor of the Panama Canal Zone.

Career

Clarence Ridley attended the public schools of his home. Between 1901 and 1904 he graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He then began a long career as an officer in the U.S. Army, where he was assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers. In the years 1905 and 1906 he was stationed at Fort Leavenworth and Fort Riley. In 1907 he was transferred for a time to Cuba. After that he was in the years 1909 to 1912 in Hawaii and the Philippines and then back to Fort Leavenworth. He was assigned to the district engineer in North Carolina then, where he was responsible for the construction of two locks and dams. This is followed included a tour of duty in Washington DC of. There he directed, now promoted to Major, the establishment of a reserve corps of Engineers. Since October 1917 he was a colonel on the staff of President Woodrow Wilson. In addition, he was responsible for the management of public buildings in the capital. This includes monitoring the construction of the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington Memorial was on the Arlington National Cemetery.

Since 1921, Ridley has worked in various military functions in the Panama Canal Zone. In 1936 he was appointed as the successor of Julian Larcombe Schley to the local governor. This office he held until 1940. During this time, the rules for the use of the channel, including transit fees were revised. In addition, the entrance channel was deepened by the Pacific Ocean. Clarence Ridley remained in the army until June 30, 1947; then he went into retirement. His last rank is not known. He died on July 26, 1969 in Carmel.