Early Years (1892 - 1919)
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| February 18, 1892 | Born in Elwood, Indiana |
| January 29, 1910 | Graduation from Elwood High School |
| June 1913 | Graduation from Indiana University |
| Sept. 1913 - Nov. 1914 | History teacher at Coffeyville, Kansas, High School |
| 1915 | Works with brother Fred in Puerto Rico |
| June 1916 | Graduation from Indiana University Law School |
| 1917 - 1919 | U.S. Army service, World War I |
| January 14, 1918 | Marries Edith Wilk while on weekend leave from Army |
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| Law Career (1919 - 1932) | TOP |
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| May 1919 - Dec. 1920 | Lawyer for Firestone, Akron, Ohio |
| January 1921 | Joins Mather and Nesbitt law firm, Akron, Ohio |
| June 1924 | Delegate at 1924 Democratic National Convention in NYC |
| 1925 | Crusades against the Akron-area Ku Klux Klan |
| 1929 - 1933 | Lawyer for Commonwealth & Southern Corp. in NYC |
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| New Deal Critic (1933 - 1939) | TOP |
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| 1933 | Becomes president of Commonwealth & Southern Corp. |
| 1935 | Willkie emerges as the utility industry's foremost critic of the TVA |
| September 1936 | White House conference with FDR on fate of C & S Corp. |
| January 1938 | Willkie begins negotiations to sell C & S assets to the TVA |
| January 30, 1939 | Supreme Court strikes down challenge to TVA's constitutionality |
| February 4, 1939 | Sells C & S assets to federal government for $78.6 million |
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| Presidential Campaign (1940) | TOP |
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| January 1940 | New York Sun reports Willkie’s switch to Republican party |
| June 12, 1940 | Willkie publicly acknowledges he will seek GOP nomination |
| June 28, 1940 | Wins GOP nomination for president |
| July 1940 | “Colorado Retreat” to form campaign strategy |
| August 17, 1940 | Acceptance speech, Elwood, Indiana |
| September 1940 | “The Willkie Special” campaign by train begins |
| November 2, 1940 | Madison Square Garden speech |
| November 5, 1940 | Defeated by FDR in general election |
| November 11, 1940 | “Loyal Opposition” Speech (radio), NYC HEAR EXCERPTS |
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| Loyal Opposition (1941 - 1944) | TOP |
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| Jan. 22 - Feb. 9, 1941 | Visits England in support of Lend-Lease |
| February 1941 | Advocates for Lend-Lease before U.S. Congress |
| July 19, 1942 | Addresses the NAACP |
| Aug. 26 - Oct. 14, 1942 | Flight around the world aboard the Gulliver |
| October 26, 1942 | “Report to the People” nationwide radio address on world tour |
| November 9, 1942 | Pleads Schneiderman case before U.S. Supreme Court |
| April 8, 1943 | Publication of One World |
| April 4, 1944 | Defeated in Wisconsin presidential primary |
| October 7, 1944 | Publication of An American Program |
| October 8, 1944 | Dies in New York City |
| TOP |
Law Career