Dwight D. Eisenhower was born October 14, 1890, in Texas.
His name at birth was David Dwight Eisenhower, but people called him Dwight. He changed his name to Dwight David Eisenhower when he was older.
Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States.
Before he became president, he was a five-star general in the US Army.
Eisenhower was part German, English, and Swiss.
Ike, as he was called, was raised in the Jehovah's Witness religion. He changed religions and became a Presbyterian 12 days after he took office as president.
Eisenhower graduated from West Point in 1915. While he was there, he played football.
During World War I, he trained tank crews in Pennsylvania. He was not involved in any combat.
He married Mamie Doud in 1916 and they had two sons. Their first son died of scarlet fever when he was just three years old.
The United States entered World War II after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941.
During WWII, Eisenhower moved up the chain of command and became General of the Army in 1944.
He headed the Allied D-Day invasion of Normandy, France.
In 1952, Eisenhower retired from the Army and several years later he ran for president as a Republican.
He served two terms, from 1959 to 1961.
His vice president was Richard Nixon. Nixon became the 37th US President.
The following things happened during his terms:
1. Korean War ceasefire
2. Cold War
3. increased nuclear weapon development
4. Space Race
5. expansion of Social Security
6. Interstate Highway System
7. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare created
8. Justice Department support for school integration in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
9. Earl Warren appointed Chief Justice
10. Alaska and Hawaii become US states
11. Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960
12. Army troops sent to Little Rock, Arkansas, to escort nine black students into an all-white public high school.
In his final Address to the Nation he spoke about the influence of the military-industrial complex.
Dwight D. Eisenhower died on March 28, 1969, at the age of 78. He is buried in Abilene, Kansas, on the grounds of the Eisenhower Presidential Library.
1. Eisenhower was the first US President born in Texas.
2. When he was young, he wanted to be a professional baseball player.
3. Eisenhower was in the army during both world wars, but he was never engaged in combat.
4. Because he was in the Army, he and his wife Mamie lived in about 28 different homes.
5. In 1954, Eisenhower helped have the words under God added to the Pledge of Allegiance. In 1956, he supported the adoption of In God We Trust as the motto of the United States.
6. Eisenhower played golf as president and after he left office.
7. A public memorial is being built in Washington, D.C. to honor his accomplishments as General of the Army and President of the United States.
8. His grandson, David Eisenhower, married his vice president's daughter, Julie Nixon, in 1968.