banner


Key Dates

1915 Dwight D. Eisenhower graduated from West Point.

1943 General Eisenhower is made commander of the allied forces in Europe.

1945 Truman names Eisenhower Chief of Staff.

1952 General Eisenhower retires from the army after serving 37 years.

1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower is elected President.

1953 Eisenhower ends the Korean War.

1954 The Supreme Court rules that legation in schools is unconstitutional.

1955 Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on the bus.

1957 The Soviet Union launches its first satellite into space.

1957 Eisenhower sends troops to help desegregate an all white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas.

1969 Dwight D. Eisenhower dies.

Dwight David Eisenhower
1953 - 1961
34th President

Eisenhower was one of two Presidents born in Texas. He was born in Denison, Texas on October 14, 1890. He was the first President born in Texas.

Dwight Eisenhower was a Presbyterian.

He played football in college and was injured trying to tackle Jim Thorpe. He was on West Point's team but was forced to quit the team due to a knee injury.

General Eisenhower was in charge of the D-Day invasion during World War II. He was made a 5-star general afterward.

Dwight Eisenhower was the first nominee to travel by airplane while campaigning

Eisenhower was the only president who was a licensed pilot, and he initiated the use of Air Force One.

Dwight Eisenhower was the only President who served in WWI and WWII.

President Eisenhower belonged to the Republican Party.

"I Like Ike" was his famous campaign slogan.

Dwight Eisenhower was the first President to serve under a constitutionally limit presidential term (22nd Amendment.

Dwight Eisenhower was the first president to be baptized after taking office.

Ike was the first President over 49 and later 50 states.

A special golf green was installed on the White House lawn for him to practice his golf shots.

When the Eisenhower bought a farm in Gettysburg in 1950, it was the first permanent home they owned.

Dwight Eisenhower was elected President in 1952 and 1956. Dwight Eisenhower's Vice President was Richard Nixon (1953-1961).

Dwight Eisenhower was the first President to have his news conference recorded by both newsreels and television. (January 19, 1955)

He was the first President to fly in a helicopter.

Dwight had a Wiemaraner named Heidi.

Ike was the first President to submerged in an atomic-powered submarine. (Sept. 26, 1957)

He suffered a heart attack while he was president, but recovered quickly.

President Eisenhower signed the first Civil Rights legislation in 1960. The bill addressed the rights of black Americans to vote. In 1957 he had sent troops to Arkansas to protect black students trying to enroll in Little Rock High School.

 

President Eisenhower
Eisenhower meets with Martin Luther King, Jr. (left)
and A. Philip Randolph (right) in the Oval Office on June 23, 1958.
National Archives and Records Administration.

Dwight Eisenhower liked to eat TV dinners while watching westerns.

He was the first President to appear on color television.

President Eisenhower was President during the conclusion of the Korean War

He enjoyed painting pictures but wasn't able to draw, so he had someone else draw the pictures he painted.

Dwight Eisenhower died in Washington, D.C. on March 28, 1969. He was 78.

Quotes from Dwight Eisenhower:

"America is best described by one word, freedom."
Jan. 9, 1959

"Dollars and guns and no substitutes for brains and will power."
Radio Panel, June 3, 1953

"I just don't believe we should amend ...the Constitution every time we think a new law ought to be passed." May 13, 1959; Press Conference.

Sites:

Eisenhower National Historic Site

 

 



Quick Facts

34th President
1953-1961

Born: Denison, Texas, Oct. 14, 1890

Inaugurated President:
First term: Jan. 20, 1953
Second term: Jan. 21, 1957.

Party: Republican

Died: Washington, D.C. March28, 1969, age 78.

 

References:

  • The Presidents of the United States. 22 September 2004
  • Davis, Gibbs and Ilus. David A. Johnson. Wackiest White House Pets. New York: Scholastic Press, October 2004
  • James, Barber and Amy Pastan. Smithsonian Presidents and First Ladies. New York: DK Publishing, 2002
  • Harnsberger, Caroline Thomas. Treasury of Presidential Quotations. Chicago: Follett Publishing Company, 1964
  • Kane, Joseph Natan. Facts about the Presidents from Washington to Johnson. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1964.
  • National Park Service Web Site on Presidential Trivia: http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/pres/trivia.htm.

Additional Sources:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents
http://www.historyplace.com/specials/portraits/presidents/index.html

www.freep.com
http://www.umkc.edu/imc/prestriv.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/4062/trivia.html
http://www.freep.com/news/inaug/trivia/index.htm
http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/

 

If you have comments or corrections, please send them to jim@anewadventure.org.

   
   
  Contact Jim for more info.

 

 

 

 

This page was last modified: January 31, 2012