Waldo A. Evans (1869 – April 15, 1936) was a captain of the United States Navy and military Governor of both the United States Virgin Islands and American Samoa. He was the last military governor of the U. S. Virgin Islands.
Waldo Evans was sent to American Samoa by U.S. Navy Secretary Josephus Daniels in 1920 to lead a court of inquiry investigating turmoil and strong opposition to Governor Warren Terhune. Three weeks after Terhune's suicide in Utulei, Evans submitted a report in November 1920 that exonerated the Governor. Before he could return to the U.S., Evans was ordered to remain in American Samoa and assume the governorship. He is particularly remembered for establishing a public school system, requiring villages to provide buildings while the government supplied teachers. At the time, only three schools existed in the territory, but Evans established sixteen new schools within two years. In 1922, Evans improved the road system and established the Leone Rapid Transit system. He also ordered the first compilation of American Samoa laws. The territory experienced an economic boost as people resumed cutting copra. In January 1927, based on his successful performance in American Samoa, Curtis D. Wilbur called him out of retirement to serve as Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands.[1]