John Alden Dix (December 25, 1860 – April 9, 1928) was an American businessman and politician who served as 38th governor of New York from January 1911 to January 1913.
A native of Glens Falls, New York, Dix attended Cornell University before becoming active in several Dix family business ventures. He later expanded into the lumber and paper industries, where his success made him wealthy.
Dix became active in politics as a Democratic Party, and served terms as chairman of the Washington County Democratic Committee and the New York State Democratic Committee. In 1908, Dix was an unsuccessful candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York.
In 1910, Dix was the successful Democratic nominee for governor, and he served one two-year term, January 1911 to December 1912. His term was largely concerned with issues of workplace safety in the wake of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. In 1912, Dix ran for reelection, but lost the Democratic nomination to William Sulzer.
After leaving the governorship, Dix returned to management of his business interests. In retirement he became a resident of Santa Barbara, California. He died in New York City in 1928, and was buried in Albany, New York.
Life
John Alden Dix was born on December 25, 1860, in Glens Falls, New York, to Laura (née Stevens) and James Lawton Dix. His maternal great-grandparents, Ozias (1750–1835) and Lucy Hatch Dix (1752–1831), were first cousins. His second cousin, twice removed is Daniel H. Wells. He graduated from Glens Falls Academy and attended Cornell University from 1879 to 1882. He was a member of the Theta Delta Chi fraternity. He was warden of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Schuylerville.
Trivia
Governor Dix planned to sail to Europe with his wife on April 20, 1912, aboard the RMS Titanic. For obvious reasons this journey was canceled.