Adlai Stevenson II, American soldier, politician, and diplomat, 5th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1965)
Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat.
Raised in Bloomington, Illinois, Stevenson was a member of the Democratic Party. He served in numerous positions in the federal government during the 1930s and 1940s, including the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, Federal Alcohol Administration, Department of the Navy, and the State Department. In 1945, he served on the committee that created the United Nations, and he was a member of the initial U.S. delegations to the UN.
In 1948, he was elected governor of Illinois, defeating incumbent governor Dwight H. Green in an upset. As governor, he reformed the state police, cracked down on illegal gambling, improved the state highways, and attempted to cleanse the state government of corruption. Stevenson also sought to reform the Illinois state constitution and introduced several crime bills in the state legislature. However, his efforts at constitutional reform and the crime bills failed to pass the state legislature.
In the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections, he was chosen as the Democratic nominee for president, but was defeated in a landslide by Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower both times. In 1960, he again unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination for a third time at the Democratic National Convention. After President John F. Kennedy was elected, he appointed Stevenson as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Two major events Stevenson dealt with during his time as UN ambassador were the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba in April 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.
Stevenson served as UN ambassador from January 1961 until his death during a visit to London on July 14, 1965. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in his hometown of Bloomington, Illinois.
1900Feb, 5
Adlai Stevenson II
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Events on 1900
- 16Jan
American Samoa
The United States Senate accepts the Anglo-German treaty of 1899 in which the United Kingdom renounces its claims to the Samoan islands. - 24Mar
New York City Subway
Mayor of New York City Robert Anderson Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground "Rapid Transit Railroad" that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn. - 5Apr
Linear B
Archaeologists in Knossos, Crete, discover a large cache of clay tablets with hieroglyphic writing in a script they call Linear B. - 2Jul
Lake Constance
The first Zeppelin flight takes place on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen, Germany. - 14Jul
Boxer Rebellion
Armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance capture Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion.