Thomas Edmund Dewey
1902-1971

Three term Republican governor of New York (1943-55) and an unsuccessful Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948.  Dewey's three terms as governor were marked by honest, efficient administration.  Some of his accomplishments as governor include the implementation of a huge highway construction program (the NY State Thruway); the passage of the first state law prohibiting racial or religious discrimination in employment; the creation of a labor mediation board,  improved unemployment and disability benefits, and the creation of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University.

Governor Dewey also strengthened the public library system in New York by recommending increased aid to public libraries and by linking this aid to the development of regional interlibrary loan systems.

Prior to becoming Governor, Dewey was appointed a special prosecutor in charge of investigating organized crime.  His excellent record of investigating and prosecuting vice and racketeering led to his election as District Attorney of New York County in 1937.  As District Attorney, he earned national fame by successfully prosecuting the criminal syndicate Murder, Incorporated.

Dewey was born in Owosso, Michigan and was a graduate of the University of Michigan (1923) and Columbia University Law School (1925).