Melvin Herbert Evans was born on August 7, 1917, in Christiansted, St. Croix, Virgin Islands. He attended public schools until entering Howard University where he received his B.S. in 1940. In 1944 he received his M.D. from Howard College of Medicine, whereupon he served in a variety of medical and public health posts at hospitals and institutions in the United States until 1959.
From 1959 to 1967 Evans served as a health commissioner in the Virgin Islands. In 1969, President Richard Nixon appointed Evans, a Republican, as Governor of the Virgin Islands. In 1970, after the Virgin Islands Elective Governor Act allowed for the election of a governor by the territory’s residents, Evans became the first popularly elected governor, serving for five years. Afterward, he was a Republican National Committeeman for the Virgin Islands from 1976 to 1980.
- See more at: http://www.blackpast.org/aah/evans-melvin-herbert-1917-1984
