Dwight D. Eisenhower

AKA:
Ike
Birth Name:
David Dwight Eisenhower
Birth Date:
October 14, 1890
Birth Place:
Denison, Texas
Death Date:
March 28, 1969
Place of Death:
Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Age:
78
Cause of Death:
Congestive heart failure
Cemetery Name:
Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum
Claim to Fame:
World Leaders
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, serving two terms from 1953 to 1961. Born on October 14, 1890, in Denison, Texas, and raised in Abilene, Kansas, Eisenhower graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1915. He rose to international prominence during World War II as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe, where he led the successful D-Day invasion of Normandy in 1944. A five-star general, Eisenhower was widely respected for his leadership and strategic acumen. After the war, he served as president of Columbia University and later as the first Supreme Commander of NATO before entering politics. As president, Eisenhower oversaw a period of relative peace and economic prosperity, strengthened the U.S. interstate highway system, and took a moderate approach to Cold War tensions. He also sent federal troops to enforce school desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas, demonstrating a cautious but firm stance on civil rights. Eisenhower retired from public life in 1961 and died on March 28, 1969.

Fun Facts

Eisenhower was born David Dwight Eisenhower in Denison, Texas, on October 14, 1890, the third of seven sons born to Ida and David. His mother soon reversed his two forenames after his birth to avoid the confusion of having two Davids in the family.

During World War I, he was denied a request to serve in Europe and instead commanded a unit that trained tank crews.

In December 1943, President Roosevelt decided that Eisenhower would be Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. The following month, he resumed command of ETOUSA and the following month was officially designated as the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), serving in a dual role until the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945.  He was charged in these positions with planning and carrying out the Allied assault on the coast of Normandy in June 1944 under the code name Operation Overlord, the liberation of Western Europe and the invasion of Germany.

Throughout 1945, the allied armies liberated numerous Nazi concentration camps throughout Europe. As the allies learned the full extent of the Holocaust, Eisenhower anticipated that, in the future, attempts to recharacterize Nazi crimes as propaganda (Holocaust denial) would be made, and took steps against it by demanding extensive photo and film documentation of Nazi extermination camps.

Eisenhower gave the Atoms for Peace speech to the United Nations General Assembly on 8 December 1953, advocating for constructive use of nuclear fission for electrical energy and nuclear medicine instead of nuclear arms race proliferation. The speech led to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 which allowed the civilian world to develop nuclear fission technology for peaceful and prosperous purposes.

Ike changed the name of FDR’s Maryland retreat from Shangri-la to Camp David. Eisenhower thought Shangri-la was “just a little too fancy for a Kansas farm boy.”

One of the greatest accomplishments of the Eisenhower Administration was the creation of an Interstate Highway System.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum

200 SE 4th Street

Abilene, Kansas, 67410

USA

North America

Grave Location Description

The final resting place of Dwight D. Eisenhower is located in the chapel located near the museum next to the small water fountain.

Grave Location GPS

38.91206309633799, -97.21296893457777

Visiting The Grave:

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Read More About Dwight D. Eisenhower:

Videos Featuring Dwight D. Eisenhower:
Dwight D. Eisenhower: The 34th President of the United States | Biography
Dwight D. Eisenhower: Mr. Supreme Allied Commander Goes to Washington
Dwight D. Eisenhower | 60-Second Presidents
D-Day: Eisenhower and the paratroopers' key to success
Eisenhower's Meteoric Rise
Warnings from Dwight D. Eisenhower - Forgotten History

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