Dwight D. Eisenhower

President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Oval Office

ENHS Photo

Quick Facts

Significance:

34th President of the United States, Supreme Allied Commander in WWII, Five-Star General

Place of Birth:

Dennison, Texas

Date of Birth:

October 14, 1890

Place of Death:

Walter Reed Army Hospital, Washington, D.C.

Date of Death:

March 28, 1969

Place of Burial:

Abilene, Kansas

Dwight David Eisenhower (commonly known as “Ike”) was born on October 14, 1890 in Denison, Texas. His father, David Eisenhower, was struggling to make a living for his family in this railroad town. Shortly, the Eisenhower family returned to Abilene, Kansas. Ike spent the next twenty years of his life in this small mid-western town.

In 1911, Ike reported to the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. He desperately wanted a college education, but his parents did not have the income. West Point offered him a free college education and different career path than his forefathers. Ike graduated from West Point in 1915. Shortly after graduating, he married Mamie Geneva Doud on July 1, 1916.

Ike entered the small peacetime U.S. Army shortly before World War I. During the Great War, he urgently wanted to serve in combat in France against the Germans. Instead, he was a superb tank training commander performing well above his rank in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Ike thought that not serving in combat would hurt his military career. However, he had learned the vital organizational, logistical, administrative, and most importantly leadership skills, which were the foundation for his future success.

Between the World Wars and during the Great Depression, the U.S. Army received large budget cuts including the salaries of officers. With patience and a firm desire to serve his country, Ike endured the lean years. Due to the raging war in Europe starting on September 1, 1939, the U.S. implemented a peace-time draft in 1940. The size of the army increased dramatically. Talented officers like Ike now had an opportunity to advance in rank.

He wasted no time in his rapid rise in the ranks. Ike went from Lieutenant Colonel to a five-star general in slightly over three and half years. He successfully led the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. The highpoint of his military career was as the Supreme Allied Commander during D-Day on June 6, 1944 and the defeat of Nazi Germany in May 1945.

After World War II, Ike served as the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army from November 1945 to January 1948. Taking leave from the army in 1948, he accepted the presidency of Columbia University. His break from military service was very brief. President Harry Truman offered Ike in late 1950 the position of Supreme Allied Commander of NATO based in Paris, France. Without hesitation Ike and Mamie headed to Paris for the challenging assignment.

When Ike was in Paris, he was recruited again to run for the presidency of the United States. He had been recruited by both political parties since 1948. Finally, in 1952, Ike declared that he was a Republican and decided to enter the Republican primary. The Republican Party’s leading candidate in 1952 was Robert Taft, an isolationist and son of the former president William Howard Taft. The competition for delegates was fierce at the Republican convention in Chicago, but Ike eventually prevailed.

The general election on November 4, 1952 against Democrat Adlai Stevenson proved to be easier than the primary. Ike won in a landslide. Ike’s victory in 1952 was the first Republican presidential victory since Herbert Hoover won in 1928. Despite some health issues in office, Ike easily won a second term as president in 1956.

During his two terms in office, Ike established NASA, the Interstate Highway System, the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and eight years of peace and prosperity. Considering the diverse and multitude of challenges during the Cold War, most presidential historians rank Dwight D. Eisenhower in the top ten of past presidents.

Ike’s official retirement date was January 20, 1961, following the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. The seventy-year-old Ike and Mamie moved into their retirement home and farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for a well-deserved rest after nearly fifty years of public service.