Adlai Stevenson

American politician and statesman. An intellectual and moral giant, he ran for president of the U.S. in 1952 and 1956.

Growing up in the rural surroundings of Bloomington, IL, Adlai’s family had political ties dating back to the American Revolution. His paternal grandfather was V. P. under Grover Cleveland, his dad was the Illinois Secretary of State and his mom, a Republican, had family ties to Abe Lincoln. He traveled extensively in Europe as a young man and was not particularly successful in school as he failed his entrance exam for Princeton University three times then attended preparatory school at Choate Academy in CN and went on to Princeton where he was the editor of the "Daily Princetonian" and a member of the Quadrangle Club.

He graduated in 1922 after which he attended Harvard Law School. In 1924 he returned to Bloomington to work as an assistant editor of the "Daily Pantagraph," a newspaper his great-grandfather had started, because the ownership of the paper was in probate. While working there he reentered law school at Northwestern University and in 1926 graduated and passed the Illinois State Bar exam. He was hired by Cutting, Moore and Sidley, an old, conservative Chicago law firm. He made partner by age 35 and was earning $20,000 per year.

As a popular member of the Chicago social scene, he was a suave, urbanely sophisticated and articulate young man, joining clubs and civic organizations which furthered his political aspirations. He began government service in July 1933 when he became the special attorney assigned to Jerome Frank, general counsel to the Agricultural Adjustment Administration in Washington, D.C. In 1935 he returned to Chicago and the practice of law and became the chairman of the Chicago branch of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies, often known as the White Committee. In 1940 Stevenson was offered a position as special assistant to Colonel Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy.