He was born in
Lumberton Township, New Jersey on July 26, 1893. Powell enlisted in the New Jersey National Guard as a private in 1913, and advanced to the rank of
sergeant. He served in the
United States Army during
World War I, receiving a commission in the Aviation branch. During the war he was wounded, credited with shooting down two German planes, and received the Croix de Guerre twice. In 1941 he was promoted to
Major General in the
New Jersey National Guard as commander of the
44th Infantry Division. Powell was relieved of his division command after maneuvers in North and South Carolina. Following the outbreak of World War II Powell was recalled to active U.S. Army service as a
Colonel and served as the commander of all
psychological warfare forces under the
12th Army Group. After the war he continued to serve in the New Jersey National Guard until he retired from the military in 1948. In 1922 he was elected to the New Jersey State Assembly. He was Majority Leader in 1924, and served as Speaker in 1925. He was a member of the
New Jersey Senate from
Burlington County, New Jersey from 1928 to 1939. He served as
acting governor for the last five days of his tenure as
President of the New Jersey Senate, after
A. Harry Moore resigned to take a seat in the
United States Senate. In his brief time as acting governor, he took the opportunity to abolish the New Jersey State Recovery Administration, the state-level counterpart of the
National Recovery Administration, which had been establishing
minimum prices and other "fair competition" codes. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1937. A resident of
Lumberton Township, New Jersey, he died on March 28, 1973, at
Burlington County Memorial Hospital. ==References==