Adlai Stevenson

Adlai Stevenson II (1900–1965) was an American politician and diplomat. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Illinois, he graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. Stevenson served in the U.S. Navy during World War I and later worked in government, including roles in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations. He was elected governor of Illinois (1949–1953) and became the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in 1952 and 1956, losing both elections to Dwight D. Eisenhower. In 1961 President John F. Kennedy appointed him U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, where he became a prominent voice during the Cold War, notably during the Cuban Missile Crisis.