Howard Dean

Background

Howard Brush Dean III was born in East Hampton, New York, on November 17, 1948. He was the eldest of four siblings from Howard Brush Dean, Jr. and Andrée Belden Maitland and he has three younger brothers. Dean attended Manhattan’s Browning School until 13 years old and continued his studies at St. George’s School in Middletown, Rhode Island. After being awarded a scholarship, Dean attended the Felsted School in the U.K in September 1966.

He graduated in 1971 from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He worked as a stockbroker for a short time before deciding to study medicine. Dean completed a pre-medicine class at Columbia University and received his medical degree in 1978 from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He married fellow doctor Judith Steinberg in 1981, and the two established a family medical practice in Shelburne, Vermont. The couple was blessed with two children, Anne and Paul.

Dean’s political career began in 1982 when he became Vermont’s state representative. He was appointed as lieutenant governor in 1986. Dean succeeded the late Richard Snelling as the governor of Vermont on August 14, 1991. He later announced his candidacy on June 23, 2003, for the Democratic nomination in the 2004 presidential election. Dean was a pioneer among other presidential candidates to fully utilize Internet-based fundraising and grassroots organizing. His effort proved to be more cost-efficient, making him both a top fundraiser and a favorite for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Nevertheless, he withdrew from the race after placing third in the Wisconsin primary in February 2004. In that same year, he founded a grassroots political action committee to endorse progressive candidates, named the Democracy for America (D.F.A.)