# John David Merwin

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American politician (1921–2013)

John Merwin 8th Civilian Governor of the United States Virgin Islands In office September 25, 1958 – January 1, 1961 Preceded by Walter Gordon Succeeded by Ralph Paiewonsky Personal details Born (1921-09-26)September 26, 1921 Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S. Died 17 March 2013(2013-03-17) (aged 91) Ohio, U.S. Party Republican Alma mater University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Yale University (B.S.) George Washington University (J.D.)

**John David Merwin** (September 26, 1921 – 17 March 2013[1]) was a politician of the [United States Virgin Islands](/source/United_States_Virgin_Islands) who served in that territory's [Legislature](/source/Legislature_of_the_Virgin_Islands), as government secretary (equivalent to [lieutenant governor](/source/Lieutenant_governor)), and as the first native-born [governor](/source/Governor_of_the_United_States_Virgin_Islands). He was perhaps the first "politician" to be made governor as previous appointees were primarily men of the military, industry, or non-elected government servants.

Merwin was born in [St. Croix](/source/Saint_Croix%2C_U.S._Virgin_Islands). In the 1950s, he became a member of the legislature, during which time he voted for a 10-year exemption on all taxes for businesses with $10,000 of capitalization ($100,000 for hotels and housing industries) and a 75% reduction in income taxes for those industries. He was an avid campaigner for a USVI representative in the [United States Congress](/source/United_States_Congress).

On December 23, 1957, he was made government secretary. The following year, President [Dwight D. Eisenhower](/source/Dwight_D._Eisenhower) nominated him for governor on August 4, Congress approved and he was sworn in on September 25.

As governor, he worked to build a second airport on [St. Thomas](/source/Saint_Thomas%2C_United_States_Virgin_Islands), but that plan was scrapped by his successor. He also worked to boost tourism by attending tourism conventions and even opened a Department of Tourism office in New York City.

## References

- "Virgin Islands Vote Aid to New Business". *New York Times*. Jun 15, 1957. p. 24.

- "Lebanon Envoy Named". *New York Times*. Dec 24, 1957. p. 7.

- "J. D. Merwin Is Named For Virgin Islands Post". *New York Times*. Aug 6, 1958. p. 5.

- "Merwin Is Sworn it as Virgin Isles' Governor". *Chicago Daily Tribune*. Sep 26, 1958. p. 5.

- "New York Office to Open". *New York Times*. Jan 22, 1961. p. XX26.

- John D. Merwin (2010). *A Life of Friendships*. Southern Cross Publications.

## External links

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Obituary notice](http://stcroixsource.com/content/news/local-news/2013/03/19/john-d-merwin-first-native-born-vi-governor-dies-91) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20161104013753/http://stcroixsource.com/content/news/local-news/2013/03/19/john-d-merwin-first-native-born-vi-governor-dies-91) 2016-11-04 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

Political offices Preceded by Walter Gordon Governor of the Virgin Islands 1958–1961 Succeeded by Ralph Paiewonsky

v t e Governors of the U.S. Virgin Islands Naval (1917–1931) Pollock Oliver Oman Kittelle Hough Williams Trench W. Evans Civil (1931–1969) Pearson Herrick Cramer Lovett Harwood Hastie de Castro Alexander Claunch Gordon Merwin Paiewonsky King Elected (since 1969) M. Evans King Luis Farrelly Schneider Turnbull de Jongh Mapp Bryan

Authority control databases VIAF GND WorldCat

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