Stevenson

Stevenson, family of U.S. Democratic politicians. Adlai Ewing (1835–1914) was elected U.S. vice president (1893–97). His grandson Adlai Ewing (1900–65) was elected governor of Illinois (1949–53). He was chosen as his party's presidential candidate in 1952 and 1956 but lost to Dwight D. Eisenhower. His positions on halting the arms race and promoting the economies of Africa and Asia were unpopular. He lost the 1960 nomination to John F. Kennedy. From 1961 until his death he was U.S. ambassador to the UN. His son Adlai Ewing III (1930– ) was elected from Illinois to the U.S. Senate (1970–81) and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1982 and 1986.