1836 - Russell Alger was born in Lafayette Township in Medina County, Ohio on the 27th of February.
1848 - He was orphaned and work on a farm to support himself and his two siblings.
1859 - He studied law in Akron, Ohio and was admitted to the bar on March.
1860 - He practiced law in Cleveland and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan where he engaged in the lumber business.
1861 - He enlisted as a private soldier in the American Civil War and was commissioned and served as a captain and major in the 2nd Michigan Infantry Regiment.
1862 - He was sent by Colonel Philip Sheridan to attack the enemy's rear on the 11th of July.
- He was made Lieutenant Colonel of the 6th Michigan Cavalry on the 16th of October.
1863 - He was promoted to colonel of the 5th Michigan Cavalry on the 28th of February.
1864 - He capture a large force of Confederates with a brilliant cavalry charge on the 11th of June.
1865 - He was brevetted brigadier general and major general of volunteers on the 11th of June.
1884 - He was elected as governor of Michigan.
1885-1887 - He served as governor of Michigan from January 1, 1885 to January 1, 1887.
1886 - He declined renomination.
1888 - He was a presidential elector on the Republican ticket and elected as the first Commander of the Michigan Department of the Grand Army of the Republic.
1889 - He was elected as the 18th Commander-in-Chief of the GAR.
1897 - He was appointed Secretary of War in the Cabinet of U.S. President William McKinley on the 5th of March.
1899 - He resigned at President McKinley's request.
1901 - He published The Spanish-American War.
1902 - He was appointed by Michigan Governor Aaron T. Bliss to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy on the 27th of September.
1903 - He was elected by the Michigan State Legislature to the Senate on January.
1907 - Died in Washington, D.C. on the 24th of January.
Page last updated: 12:14pm, 16th Jul '07