Background
Davis was born in Saint Louis, Missouri on July 5, 1879.
governor-general politician secretary Tennis player
Davis was born in Saint Louis, Missouri on July 5, 1879.
Harvard University.
He was the United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1923 to 1925. Davis reached the All-Comers final for the Men"s Singles title at the United States Championships in 1898 and 1899. Davis and Ward were also Men"s Doubles runners-up at Wimbledon in 1901.
He participated in the 1904 Summer Olympics.
He was eliminated in the second round of the singles tournament. Davis was educated at Washington University Law School, though he was never a practicing attorney.
He was, however, politically active in his home town of Saint Louis and served as the city"s public parks commissioner from 1911 to 1915. During his tenure, he expanded athletic facilities and created the first municipal tennis courts in the United States.
He served President Calvin Coolidge as Assistant Secretary of War (1923-1925) and as Secretary of War (1925-1929).
He then served as Governor General of the Philippines (1929-1932) under Herbert Hoover. He wintered in Florida from 1933 until his death, living at Meridian Plantation, near Tallahassee. Davis died in Washington, District of Columbia on November 28, 1945.
Davis has been honored with a star on the Saint Louis Walk of Fame.
He is best remembered as the founder of the Davis Cup international tennis competition. He then teamed up with Holcombe Ward and won the Men"s Doubles title at the championships for three years in a row from 1899 to 1901. Davis also won the American intercollegiate singles championship of 1899 as a student at Harvard College. In 1900 Davis developed the structure for, and donated a silver bowl to go to the winner of, a new international tennis competition designed by him and three others known as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge, which was later renamed the Davis Cup in his honor. He was a member of the United States team that won the first two competitions in 1900 and 1902, and was also the captain of the 1900 team
