may 1, 1900 - 1st United States-appointed civilian governor of PR (under President William McKinley) Charles Herbert Allen

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Charles Herbert Allen (April 15, 1848 – April 20, 1934) was an American politician and businessman. After serving in state and federal elected positions, he was appointed as the first United States-appointed civilian governor of Puerto Rico when the U.S. acquired it after the Spanish–American War. He previously had served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President William McKinley.

After returning to the U.S. from Puerto Rico, Allen headed for Wall Street and became a vice president of Morton Trust Company and its successor, the Guaranty Trust Company of New York. He formed the American Sugar Refining Company—a sugar syndicate which, by 1907, was the largest in the world. It owned or controlled 98% of the sugar processing capacity in the U.S. and was known as the Sugar Trust.[1][2] Allen was treasurer of American Sugar Refining in 1910, its president in 1913, and in 1915 he joined its board of directors.[3] In the early 21st century, the company is known as Domino Sugar.

When the war ended, President McKinley appointed Allen as the first civilian governor of Puerto Rico, and he served from 1900–1901. Though Allen had a business background, his financial administration of Puerto Rico has been criticized by historians Thomas Aitken, Jr. and Manuel Maldonado-Denis. The revenue for the island's government was raised internally, mostly from tariffs, sales taxes and property taxes. During Allen's tenure this annual budget equaled the 4.4 million pesos the Spanish had spent in 1897, but without expenses for a five-thousand man garrison or the former contributions to the Catholic church.[5]

Due to this reduced overhead, the island should have had a substantial budget surplus, but Allen's administration did not provide many benefits for the people. He ignored the appropriation requests of the Puerto Rican House of Delegates, and refused to make any municipal, agricultural or small business loans. He built roads at double the old costs. 85% of the school-age population did not have schools. Instead of making needed infrastructure and education investments, Allen re-directed the insular budget to no-bid contracts for U.S. businessmen, railroad subsidies for U.S.-owned sugar plantations, and high salaries for U.S. bureaucrats in the island government.[5][6]

Allen was also listed as one of the "Politicians in the Lumber and Timber Business in Puerto Rico." [7]

By the time Allen left in 1901, nearly all of the governor's 11-member Executive Council were U.S. expatriates. Half the appointive offices in the government of Puerto Rico had been given to visiting Americans, 626 of them at top salaries.

After resigning as governor in 1901, Allen headed to Wall Street and joined the House of Morgan as vice-president of both the Morgan Trust Company and the Guaranty Trust Company of New York. Through these connections, he built a sugar syndicate in Puerto Rico. By 1907 this syndicate, the American Sugar Refining Company, owned or controlled 98% of the sugar processing capacity in the United States and was known as the Sugar Trust.[1][2]

By 1910 Allen was treasurer of the American Sugar Refining Company, by 1913 he was its president, and by 1915 he sat on its board of directors.[8] While Allen built the largest sugar syndicate in the world, his political appointees in Puerto Rico provided him with land grants, tax subsidies, water rights, railroad easements, foreclosure sales and favorable tariffs.[9] Today, the Allen sugar syndicate is known as Domino Sugar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Herbert_Allen

Military Commandant under US Rule
25 Jul 1898 - 21 Oct 1898 Nelson Appleton Miles
21 Oct 1898 - 9 Dec 1898 John Ruller Brooke
9 Dec 1898 - 9 May 1899 Guy Vernor Henry
9 May 1899 - 1 May 1900 George Whitefield Davis

Governors under US Rule
1 May 1900 - 15 Sep 1901 Charles Herbert Allen
15 Sep 1901 - 4 Jul 1904 William Henry Hunt
4 Jul 1904 - 18 Apr 1907 Beekman Winthrop
18 Apr 1907 - 6 Nov 1909 Regis Henry Prost
6 Nov 1909 - 15 Nov 1913 George Radcliffe Colton
15 Nov 1913 - May 1921 Arthur Yager

http://www.elboricua.com/Governors.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_governors_of_Puerto_Rico#Post-Foraker_Act_of_1900

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