Otto Carl Dowling was a United States Navy Captain, and the governor of American Samoa from April 17,1934, to January 15,1936.
17 Facts About Otto Dowling
1.
2.
Otto Dowling graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1903.
3.
Otto Dowling was re-commissioned in World War II, serving as the commander of a naval ammunition depot on Iona Island in New York.
4.
Otto Dowling commanded the Lake Denmark Powder Depot, and was in charge when lightning struck the location, causing a large explosion of millions of dollars' worth of ammunition.
5.
Otto Dowling was Governor of American Samoa from 1934 to 1936.
6.
Otto Dowling abandoned a project on the island to train people in agricultural and sawmill skills.
7.
Otto Dowling shut down some local occupational training facilities, and outlawed the sale of alcohol to men under 18, and to all women.
8.
Governor Dowling denied a resolution from the Eastern District that sought to establish a legislative assembly known as the Fono.
9.
Otto Dowling attended the United States Naval Academy from New York, beginning in 1898 and graduating in 1903.
10.
Otto Dowling served in both World War I, where he obtained his Captain rank.
11.
Otto Dowling served as the senior member of the Naval Alaskan Coal Commission.
12.
Otto Dowling was in charge of the Lake Denmark Powder Depot when an explosion occurred there in 1926.
13.
Otto Dowling was temporarily blinded, badly burned, and used a wheelchair for a time afterward.
14.
Otto Dowling was Governor of American Samoa from April 17,1934, to January 15,1936.
15.
Otto Dowling's administration continued certain policies of racism toward the native Samoans, who he believed had little work ethic or ability to plan for the future; as such, he treated the Samoan race as a people who needed safety nets.
16.
Otto Dowling outlawed the sale of alcohol to all men below the age of eighteen, and to all women on the island.
17.
Otto Dowling was driving a car on Merritt Parkway when he had a heart attack; Dowling successfully pulled the car to the side of the road, but died a few minutes later.