George Whitefield Davis

George Whitefield Davis ( born July 26, 1839 in Thompson, Connecticut, † July 12, 1918 in Washington DC) was an American officer. In 1899 and 1900 he was military governor of Puerto Rico; 1904 to 1905 he held the same office in the Panama Canal Zone.

Career

About the youth and education of George Davis, nothing is handed down. During the Civil War he served in an infantry unit from Connecticut in the army of the Union. He participated in several battles and rose to major general of volunteers. After the war he enlisted in the regular United States Army, in which he also rose over the following decades until General Major. He was also vice president of the company that built the Nicaragua Canal, and Chairman of the International Advisory Board for the construction of the Panama Canal. He was also involved in the completion of the Washington Monument. He was also commander of various units of the army.

Between May 9, 1899, the May 1, 1900 George Davis was as successor to Guy Vernor Henry military governor of Puerto Rico; 1904 to 1905, he served as the first military governor of the Panama Canal Zone. In 1907 he succeeded as president of the American Red Cross to Robert Maitland O'Reilly; he held until 1915 this position. He died on 12 July 1918 in the German capital Washington.