1896-02-23
Louis Déjoie born, the man Haiti did not choose in 1957
Haitian
Louis Déjoie was born on 23 February 1896. An agronomist and industrialist from the wealthy mulatto elite of the South, he built sugar and essential-oil businesses and sat in the Senate. In the election of 22 September 1957 he ran against François Duvalier and lost. Duvalier’s men went after his supporters; Déjoie fled into exile and died in 1969. That vote is where the dictatorship starts, so every account of it is really an account of the road Haiti did not take.
Source
Researched: Wikipedia; Diederich & Burt, Papa Doc; Haiti-Référence