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Dwight D. Eisenhower
Commanding the Allied invasion of Western Europe in 1944 and serving as the 34th US president.
Operation Overlord · Interstate highways
- Born
- 14 October 1890
- Birthplace
- Denison, Texas, USA
- Died
- 28 March 1969
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Dwight D. Eisenhower moved from a long army career to the centre of the Allied war effort and then the White House. His leadership depended heavily on coordination, organisation and managing powerful competing personalities.
Early life
A Kansas upbringing
Born in Texas, he grew up in Abilene, Kansas, in a large family with limited money.
West Point
He entered the military academy in 1911 and graduated in 1915, beginning an army career built through training and staff assignments.
Career
- 1915–1941
An officer’s apprenticeship
Training troops and serving in staff posts developed his planning skills before the United States entered the Second World War.
- 1942–1945
Allied command
He directed operations in North Africa and then commanded the Allied expeditionary force for the Normandy invasion.
- 1948–1952
University and alliance
He became president of Columbia University and later NATO’s first supreme allied commander in Europe.
- 1953–1961
The presidency
Two terms included the interstate highway programme, Cold War crises and federal enforcement of school desegregation in Little Rock.
Public life
Operation Overlord
The Normandy invasion required coordinated naval, air and land forces from several Allied countries.
Interstate highways
Federal legislation supported a nationwide system of high-speed roads.
Little Rock intervention
He sent federal troops to enforce the desegregation of Central High School.
Beyond work
Life with Mamie
He married Mamie Doud in 1916; army postings shaped much of their early married life.
Painting and the farm
He took up painting and spent time at the family farm near Gettysburg, which became their retirement home.
Sources & photo credit
Life and career ↗Institutional or specialist reference ↗Featured contribution ↗Photo: White House. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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