William Stevenson (athlete)

William Edwards Stevenson ( born October 25, 1900 in Chicago, Illinois; † 2 April 1985 in Fort Myers, Florida) was an American athlete who was active in the 1920s as a sprinter. His special line was the 400 m.

In the VIII Summer Olympics in Paris in 1924 he was a member of the 4 × 400 m relay, which in the cast Commodore Cochran, Alan Helffrich, Oliver MacDonald and William Stevenson cage rotor in a world record time of 3:16, 0 Minutes with large distance ahead of Sweden and Great Britain won the gold medal.

In the AAU championships over 440 y he won the 1921 title ( 48.6 sec); 1922 and 1924 he placed second in 1927 as a third party. In 1923 he participated in the AAA Championships in London, where he was in 49.6 sec victorious over 440 y.

Stevenson studied law at Oxford. After his return to the U.S. he founded together with three other lawyers, the New York Law Partnership. Even in the social field he was active: During the Second World War, he coordinated with his wife, the stakes of the American Red Cross in Great Britain, Italy, North Africa and Sicily, for which both were awarded the Bronze Star. In 1946 Stevenson was appointed President of Oberlin College in Ohio. In this post he remained until 1962, when U.S. President John F. Kennedy sent him for three years as United States Ambassador to the Philippines, where he became the successor of John D. Hickerson.