Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Official portrait, 1959
34th President of the United States
In office January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961
Vice President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Harry S. Truman
Succeeded by	John F. Kennedy
1st Supreme Allied Commander Europe
In office April 2, 1951 – May 30, 1952
President	Harry S. Truman
Deputy	Bernard Montgomery
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Matthew Ridgway
13th President of Columbia University
In office June 7, 1948 – January 19, 1953
Preceded by	Nicholas Murray Butler
Succeeded by	Grayson L. Kirk
16th Chief of Staff of the Army
In office November 19, 1945 – February 6, 1948
President	Harry S. Truman
Deputy	J. Lawton Collins
Preceded by	George C. Marshall
Succeeded by	Omar Bradley
1st Military Governor of the American-occupied zone of Germany
In office May 8, 1945 – November 10, 1945
President	Harry S. Truman
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	George S. Patton (acting)
Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force
In office December 24, 1943 – July 14, 1945
Appointed by	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Deputy	Arthur Tedder
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	David Dwight Eisenhower (1890-10-14)October 14, 1890 Denison, Texas, U.S.
Died	March 28, 1969(1969-03-28) (aged 78) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place	Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home
Political party	Republican (from 1952)
Other political affiliations	Democratic (1909)[1]
Spouse	Mamie Doud ​ (m. 1916)​
Children	Doud John
Relatives	Eisenhower family
Education	United States Military Academy (BS)
Occupation	Military officer politician
Signature
Nickname	"Ike"[2]
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1915–1953 1961–1969[3]
Rank	General of the Army
Battles/wars	See battles Border War Pancho Villa Expedition World War I World War II North African campaign Operation Torch Battle of Port Lyautey Tunisian campaign Battle of Kasserine Pass Italian campaign Operation Husky Allied invasion of Italy Operation Avalanche Operation Overlord Normandy landings Battle of the Falaise Pocket Liberation of Paris Operation Dragoon Siegfried Line campaign Operation Market Garden Operation Queen Battle of the Bulge Western Allied invasion of Germany Battle of Remagen Occupation of Germany Korean War
Awards	Army Distinguished Service Medal (5) Navy Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (see § Awards and decorations)
Dwight D. Eisenhower's voice Eisenhower on military enforcement of school integration in Little Rock Recorded September 24, 1957

Dwight David Eisenhower^[a] (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969), also known by his nickname Ike, was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe and achieved the five-star rank as General of the Army. Eisenhower planned and supervised two of the most consequential military campaigns of World War II: Operation Torch in the North Africa campaign in 1942–1943 and the invasion of Normandy in 1944.

Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas, and raised in Abilene, Kansas. His family had a strong religious background, and his mother became a Jehovah's Witness. Eisenhower, however, belonged to no organized church until 1952. He graduated from West Point in 1915 and later married Mamie Doud, with whom he had two sons. During World War I, he was denied a request to serve in Europe and instead commanded a unit that trained tank crews. Between the wars he served in staff positions in the US and the Philippines, reaching the rank of brigadier general shortly before the entry of the US into World War II in 1941. After further promotion Eisenhower oversaw the Allied invasions of North Africa and Sicily before supervising the invasions of France and Germany. After the war ended in Europe, he served as military governor of the American-occupied zone of Germany (1945), Army Chief of Staff (1945–1948), president of Columbia University (1948–1953), and as the first supreme commander of NATO (1951–1952).

In 1952, Eisenhower entered the presidential race as a Republican to block the isolationist foreign policies of Senator Robert A. Taft, who opposed NATO. Eisenhower won that year's election and the 1956 election in landslides, both times defeating Adlai Stevenson II. Eisenhower's main goals in office were to contain the spread of communism and reduce federal deficits. In 1953, he considered using nuclear weapons to end the Korean War and may have threatened China with nuclear attack if an armistice was not reached quickly. China did agree and an armistice resulted, which remains in effect. His New Look policy of nuclear deterrence prioritized "inexpensive" nuclear weapons while reducing funding for expensive Army divisions. He continued Harry S. Truman's policy of recognizing Taiwan as the legitimate government of China, and he won congressional approval of the Formosa Resolution. His administration provided major aid to help the French fight off Vietnamese Communists in the First Indochina War. After the French left, he gave strong financial support to the new state of South Vietnam.

He supported regime-changing military coups in Iran and Guatemala orchestrated by his own administration. During the Suez Crisis of 1956, he condemned the Israeli, British, and French invasion of Egypt, and he forced them to withdraw. He also condemned the Soviet invasion during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 but took no action. He deployed 15,000 soldiers during the 1958 Lebanon crisis. Near the end of his term, a summit meeting with the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was cancelled when a US spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. Eisenhower approved the Bay of Pigs Invasion, which was left to John F. Kennedy to carry out.

On the domestic front, Eisenhower governed as a moderate conservative who continued New Deal agencies and expanded Social Security. He covertly opposed Joseph McCarthy and contributed to the end of McCarthyism by openly invoking executive privilege. He signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and sent Army troops to enforce federal court orders which integrated schools in Little Rock, Arkansas. His administration undertook the development and construction of the Interstate Highway System, which remains the largest construction of roadways in American history. In 1957, following the Soviet launch of Sputnik, Eisenhower led the American response which included the creation of NASA and the establishment of a stronger, science-based education via the National Defense Education Act. The Soviet Union began to reinforce their own space program, escalating the Space Race. His two terms saw unprecedented economic prosperity except for a minor recession in 1958. In his farewell address, he expressed his concerns about the dangers of massive military spending, particularly deficit spending and government contracts to private military manufacturers, which he dubbed "the military–industrial complex". Historical evaluations of his presidency place him among the upper tier of American presidents.

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