Dwight D Eisenhower

Born: 14 October 1890 Birthplace: Denison, Texas Death: 28 March 1969 (heart failure) Best Known As: Supreme commander of Allied forces in WWII Name at birth: David Dwight Eisenhower Eisenhower was the most famous U.S. Army general of World War II. A career Army man, he rose to the level of 5-star general and oversaw the Allied forces in Europe, including the famous D-Day invasion of France in 1944. After the war he served briefly as president of Columbia University, then was chosen over Robert A. Taft as the Republican candidate for U.S. president in 1952. He won handily in 1952 and again in 1956, defeating Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson both times. Ike survived a half-dozen heart attacks over 15 years before succumbing in 1969. Eisenhower was succeeded by John F. Kennedy, who defeated Eisenhower's vice president, Richard Nixon, in the elections of 1960... Eisenhower was a four-pack-a-day smoker until he quit cold turkey in 1949... Like his contemporary Winston Churchill, Ike was an amateur oil painter... When he ran for president in 1952 he resigned from the army, forfeiting an annual pension of nearly $20,000... Eisenhower was baptized and became a member of the National Presbyterian Church shortly after he was inaugurated in 1953.