Dwight D. Eisenhower

34th President, 1953-1961

Vice President: Richard M. Nixon

Born: October 14, 1890, in Denison, Texas

Died: March 28, 1969

Party: Republican

Parents: David Jacob Eisenhower, Ida Elizabeth Stover

First Lady: Mamie Geneva Doud

Children: Dwight, John

Nickname: Ike

Education: Graduate of West Point Academy

Famous Firsts:

• Eisenhower was the first president to have a putting green installed on the White House lawn.
• His 1956 election marked the first time since 1848 that a president had failed to carry at least one house of Congress for his party.
• He was the first president of all fifty states.
• Eisenhower was the first licensed pilot and the first five-star general elected to the office of president.

Achievements:

• Eisenhower made good on a campaign promise and ended the Korean War.
• In 1953 he appointed Earl Warren, considered to be a moderate, as the new chief justice. Warren led a revolution on the Court when he reversed an 1896 separate-but-equal doctrine.
• He went to Korea to revive the stalled peace talks.

Interesting Facts:

• When he was born, Eisenhower’s given name was David Dwight. Later, he switched his first and middle names.
• His mother was a pacifist and cried when he decided to attend West Point.
• Eisenhower ranked 65th in his class of 165 at West Point.
• A professional soldier, he helped General MacArthur break up the Bonus March during the thirties.
• He was the only president to have served in both world wars.
• During World War II, Eisenhower served as the supreme Allied commander.
• When Eisenhower was first approached to run for president, he did not have a political party. The Democrats courted him in 1948, but his views were closer to Republican ideas.
• President Eisenhower’s favorite sport was golf, and he could often be found on the White House lawn practicing chip shots.
• Eisenhower also enjoyed painting.
• An accomplished cook, vegetable soup and cornmeal pancakes were two of Eisenhower’s best dishes.
• Eisenhower was the last president born in the nineteenth century.
• At the time, Eisenhower was the oldest man ever elected as president.