Stevenson grew up in Bloomington, Illinois where
his family name was well known, since his paternal grandfather, also
named Adlai Ewing Stevenson, was vice-president of the United States
under Grover Cleveland. After attending prep school in Vermont and
Princeton University, he came to Northwestern University Law School,
from which he graduated in 1926. He later served as a lecturer on
the Law School Faculty. In 1948, Stevenson was elected governor of
Illinois, and in 1952 and 1956 he ran for President of the United
States, but lost to Dwight D. Eisenhower both times. In 1961, he was
appointed Ambassador to the United Nations, a post he held until his
sudden death in 1965. His son, Adlai Ewing Stevenson III, was an Illinois
State Representative and a United States Senator. His grandson, Adlai
Ewing Stevenson IV, graduated from Northwestern in 1978.
