Wendell Willkie
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Personal details
Born: Lewis Wendell Willkie
February 18, 1892 in Elwood, Madison County, Indiana, United States
Died: October 8, 1944 (aged 52) in New York, New York
Resting place: East Hill Cemetery in Rushville, Indiana
Political party: Democratic Party (1920s), Republican Party (1930s onward)
Spouse: Edith Wilk Willkie
Children: Philip Willkie
Alma mater: Indiana University Bloomington (B.A., LL.B.)
Profession: Lawyer
Religion: Episcopalian

Military service
Allegiance: United States of America
Service / branch: United States Army
Years of service: 1917 - 1919
Rank: Captain
Battles / wars: World War I

Wendell Lewis Willkie - (February 18, 1892 - October 8, 1944) was a corporate lawyer in the United States and a dark horse candidate who became the Republican Party nominee for president in 1940. A member of the liberal wing of the party, he crusaded against those domestic policies of the New Deal that he thought were inefficient and anti business. Willkie, an internationalist, needed the votes of the large isolationist element, so he waffled on the bitterly debated issue of America's role in World War II, losing support from both sides. His opponent, incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt, won the 1940 election with 55% of the popular vote and 85% of the electoral vote.

Afterward, Roosevelt found Willkie to be compatible politically with his plans and brought him aboard as an informal ambassador at large. Willkie criss crossed the globe and brought home a vision of ''One World'' freed from imperialism and colonialism. Following his journeys, Willkie wrote ''One World''; a bestselling account of his travels and meetings with the Allied heads of state, as well as ordinary citizens and soldiers in regions such as Russia and Iran. His liberalism lost him supporters in the Republican Party and he dropped out of the 1944 race, then several months later died of a heart attack.