Paul Martin Pearson

Paul Martin Pearson ( born October 22, 1871 in Litchfield, Illinois, † March 26 1938 in San Francisco, California ) was an American university professor and politician. Between 1931 and 1935 he was the first civilian governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Career

Paul Pearson attended Baker University in Kansas and studied at Northwestern University in Illinois after. He worked for some time as a teacher. He later moved to Swarthmore in Pennsylvania, where he delivered at the local Swarthmore College Lectures on Rhetoric ( Public Speaking ). On this theme, he also wrote some treatises. He was also active in the Chautauqua movement, which dealt with adult education. In this context, he founded the Swarthmore Chautauqua Association. During the First World War, Pearson was responsible for the educational programs of the YMCA for the United States Army.

In 1931 he was appointed by President Herbert Hoover for the first civilian governor of the Virgin Islands. Until then, there will only naval officers had exercised this function. Pearson took up his new post on March 18, 1931 and held it until 21 August 1935. Soon there were difficulties in his new field of work. He had a falling out due to financial disagreements with Herbert Brown, director of the Bureau of Efficiency. Pearson was also accused of nepotism because he allegedly created government offices for friends. In 1933, it imposed a five percent import tax on goods from the American mainland. This made him even more unpopular. There were voices after his dismissal and even prepared a referendum on this issue. In February 1934, Pearson had to file private bankruptcy. His debt came from his commitment to the Chautauqua movement in Pennsylvania. In the following months remained Pearson in the negative headlines. He was involved in several scandals and was appointed a commission to investigate the events, but nothing resulted. Nevertheless, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him from his post on 21 August 1935.

After the end of his time as governor Paul Pearson moved to San Francisco, where he died on 26 March 1938.