Donald S. Dawson (August 3, 1908 - December 25, 2005) enjoyed a long career as a Washington, D.C. lawyer but is perhaps best remembered as the presidential aide who marshaled Harry S. Truman's crucial whistle-stop tour in the 1948 election campaign. Dawson was perhaps the first modern American political advance man, able to gauge the political climate and provide appropriate advice. Donald Shelton Dawson was born in the small community of El Dorado Springs, Missouri, graduated from the University of Missouri in 1930 and received his law degree from George Washington University in 1938.