born March 24, 1902, Owosso, Mich., U.S.
died March 16, 1971, Bal Harbour, Fla.
U.S. attorney and politician.
He became an assistant U.S. attorney in New York in 1931 and was elected district attorney in 1937. His successful prosecution of organized-crime figures won him three terms as governor of New York (1943–55), during which he pursued policies of political and fiscal moderation. He received the Republican presidential nomination in 1944 but was soundly defeated by Franklin D. Roosevelt ; nominated again in 1948, he was widely predicted to defeat the incumbent, Harry S. Truman , but Truman retained the vote of farmers and labour to prevail. Dewey retired from politics in 1955 but continued to advise Republican administrations.