Walter Evans Edge
| Walter Evans Edge | |
|---|---|
_circa_1915.jpg)
Edge circa 1915
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| 36th Governor of New Jersey | |
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In office January 15, 1917 – May 16, 1919 |
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| Preceded by | James Fairman Fielder |
| Succeeded by |
William Nelson Runyon as Acting Governor |
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In office January 18, 1944 – January 21, 1947 |
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| Preceded by | Charles Edison |
| Succeeded by | Alfred E. Driscoll |
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United States Senator, New Jersey (Class 2) |
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In office May 19, 1919 – November 21, 1929 |
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| Preceded by | David Baird |
| Succeeded by | David Baird, Jr. |
| United States Ambassador to France | |
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In office November 21, 1929 – March 4, 1933 |
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| Preceded by | Myron T. Herrick |
| Succeeded by | Jesse I. Strauss |
| Member of the New Jersey Senate | |
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In office 1910 |
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| Member of the New Jersey General Assembly | |
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In office 1909 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 20, 1873 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | October 29, 1956 (aged 82) Manhattan, New York City |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Lady Lee Phillips Camilla Loyal Ashe Sewall |
| Religion |
Presbyterian Episcopalian |
Walter Evans Edge (November 20, 1873 – October 29, 1956) was an American politician. A Republican, he was twice the Governor of New Jersey, from 1917 to 1919 and again from 1944 to 1947, serving as governor during both World War I and World War II. Edge also served as United States Senator representing New Jersey from 1919 to 1929 and as United States Ambassador to France from 1929 to 1933.
Edge was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 20, 1873. His father, William Edge, worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad. His mother Mary (Evans) Edge, died when he was two years old. At the age of four Edge moved to Pleasantville, New Jersey, where the family of his stepmother, Wilhemina (Scull) Edge, operated a small hotel. His formal education went only as far as the eighth grade in a two-room public school in Pleasantville.
As a youth, Edge demonstrated a desire to succeed in business and he acquired an interest in politics. At the age of ten, he and another boy started a four-page weekly newspaper devoted to social news, the Pleasantville Bladder, which had a circulation of approximately one hundred. Edge also attended Pleasantville Republican party rallies and later recounted that he came away from these events feeling great excitement and a growing determination to someday participate in politics himself.
In 1888, at the age of fourteen, Edge began working for the Atlantic Review, then Atlantic City’s only newspaper, providing it with news and social notes pertaining to Pleasantville and nearby communities. Later in 1888, Edge took another job with the newspaper, serving primarily as a printer's devil and performing a wide variety of other jobs as well. Edge's position at the Atlantic Review introduced him to many of the hotel owners and businessmen in rapidly growing Atlantic City. Edge moved from Pleasantville to Atlantic City the same year.
At the age of sixteen, Edge took a part-time job with John M. Dorland, who operated an Atlantic City advertising business. Dorland solicited advertising from Atlantic City hotels for Philadelphia and New York newspapers. Dorland was in poor health when Edge joined him and within a few months, Edge was running the business. When Dorland died less than one year later, his widow sold the business to Edge, who was then seventeen years old, for $500. Edge financed the purchase with a note that a hotel owner agreed to co-sign for him. Under Edge's management, the Dorland Agency grew into multimillion-dollar advertising agency, with offices in numerous cities in the United States and Europe.
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