John Sherwood Dixon (better known as Sherwood Dixon) (June 19, 1896 – May 17, 1973) was an American politician from Illinois, a member of the Democratic Party.
Sherwood Dixon was born in Dixon, Lee County, Illinois, the son of Henry S. and Margaret Casey Dixon. He was the great-grandson of the founder of Dixon, "Father" John Dixon. Dixon was a 1920 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, a veteran of World War I and a brigadier general in the Illinois National Guard. Dixon was a member of the Illinois Democratic State Central Committee (1938), a delegate to the 1952 Democratic National Convention and an alternate delegate to the 1940 and 1956 Democratic national conventions.
He is best known for serving as the 36th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, under Governor Adlai Stevenson II, from January 10, 1949, to January 13, 1953.
Governor Stevenson sought re-election in 1952, and won the Democratic primary, however he was subsequently drafted as the Democratic presidential nominee that year (losing ultimately to Republican nominee Dwight D. Eisenhower). Dixon, who was already serving as Lieutenant Governor, replaced Stevenson as the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, but went on to lose to the Republican nominee, State Treasurer William G. Stratton.
Dixon died in his hometown of the same name in 1973 and is interred in Oakwood Cemetery there.
Early life
Sherwood Dixon was a student at Notre Dame from 1915 to 1917, as WWI was in full bloom. During his two and a half years at Notre Dame, Dixon played football and made the varsity team as a backup center to "Big Frank" Frank Rydzewski. During his playing days at Notre Dame the team finished 18-3-1 under head coach Jesse Harper and a coaching staff that included assistant coach Knute Rockne. As a junior, Dixon, along with three other Notre Dame players, were caught playing semipro football for nearby Goshen, Indiana, on 4 November 1917. His violation against school rules resulted in Dixon being dismissed from the school team and suspended from the university on 10 November 1917. As his mother, Margaret (Casey) Dixon was a very strong willed and opinionated woman, Dixon enlisted as an Army private and joined the 332nd Infantry Regiment instead of returning home to face his mother's wrath.
World War I
The 332nd was a newly formed unit in Ohio and expected soon to head off to the war. Based on his college education, Sherwood Dixon was selected to be a company clerk. By the time his unit arrived in France, he was promoted to sergeant and assigned as a squad leader in one of the companies of the 2nd Battalion, 332nd Infantry Regiment, 83rd Division of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF).
In February 1918, the 332nd Infantry Regiment was sent to Italy and was the only US combat unit to fight on the Italian front during the war. During the later stages of the fighting in Italy, the regiment fought in the Battle of Vittorio-Veneto. Sergeant Sherwood Dixon's squad was one of the point squads of the 2nd battalion's attack across the Tagliamento River. During the attack, Dixon's company captured the village of San Vito, the bridge (Ponte) of Delizia and the village of Codroipo. They pressed a couple of miles to the edge of the village of Villaorba where they stopped as the Armistice in Italy went into effect, marking the end of the war in Italy. For his heroism, he was awarded the Silver Star and received a battlefield commission to lieutenant.
After the Armistice of Villa Giusti, Dixon's unit moved past Trieste and on into Hungary where the 332nd became occupiers. During this period, Dixon's father, Henry S. Dixon sent him an application to take the Illinois Bar exam. Dixon completed the exam under the supervision of his company commander and returned the application which he subsequently passed. Having passed the Bar exam, Dixon return from the war as a decorated veteran, an Officer and as a lawyer after having fled college following his expulsion.