Early life and education Born in
Chicago, Illinois, was a graduate of
Andover and
Princeton University before winning a
Rhodes Scholarship to
Oxford University, where he studied law.
Legal career After returning to the United States, he was an assistant U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York in the 1920s and, in 1931, founded the prominent New York law partnership of Debevoise, Stevenson, Plimpton and Page, now
Debevoise & Plimpton L.L.P.
Athletics and 1924 Summer Olympics William Stevenson won the
AAU championships in in 1921. Stevenson won the British
AAA Championships title in the 440 yards event at the
1923 AAA Championships. The following year in Paris at the 1924 Olympic Games, Stevenson ran the second leg on the American 4 × 400 meters relay team, which won the gold medal with a new world record of 3.16.0. His teammates were
Commodore Cochran,
Oliver MacDonald and
Alan Helffrich.
World War II During the
World War II, Stevenson and his wife, Eleanor "Bumpie" Bumstead Stevenson, a 1923 graduate of
Smith College, organized and administered
American Red Cross operations in
Great Britain, North Africa,
Sicily, and
Italy. Both he and his wife were awarded the
Bronze Star for meritorious achievement in support of military operations.
Ambassador In 1962
John F. Kennedy appointed him as an ambassador to
Philippines, where he served until 1965. He then became the head of the
Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies in Colorado.
Death Stevenson died in
Fort Myers, Florida, aged 84. ==Personal life==