Dwight David Eisenhower (known also under the nickname “Ike”) was the 34th President of the United States. Born in Dennison (Texas) in October 1890, this talented boy managed to become one of the greatest persons who played a significant role in the history of his country and implemented innovations in various spheres of the country’s life in general.
We have gathered 8 interesting facts about Dwight D. Eisenhower that may be interesting to our readers. Here they are…
Dwight D. Eisenhower: 8 interesting facts about the 34th President of the USA
1. Dwight Eisenhower stood out from his family
Dwight’s family came from a strong religious background. Discipline and a firmly-set regimen of the day were the main priorities. Bible reading took place several times during a day.
Dwight’s parents had no interest in politics and were against war. Despite this, Eisenhower was deeply interested in military history, an interesting fact about Dwight D. Eisenhower. He spent hours reading books on this topic. When he started to attend West Point, his mother was disappointed. However, she never said a word against his decision.
2. Dwight Eisenhower managed to recover from a serious infection
Eisenhower was a great fan of American football. He even dreamt of building a career as a footballer. However, this dream never came true. At the age of 15, he injured his knee. The injury led to a severe infection. The doctor who examined Dwight said that the best solution in his condition was to amputate the leg.
Eisenhower refused. Even though the decision could cost him his life, he never regretted it. Surprisingly, he fully recovered. The only bad news was that the injury put an end to his hopes of becoming a footballer.
3. Dwight Eisenhower worked at a creamery
Eisenhower was the 3rd of 7 sons in the family of David and Ida Eisenhower. Two years after his birth (1890), the family moved to Abilene in search of work. The family was rather poor and often lacked money. He wanted to start attending college, but the family had no money to pay for his education. This was the major reason for the young Dwight to start working at a creamery as a night supervisor, a fun fact about Dwight D. Eisenhower.
4. Dwight Eisenhower played one of the key roles in WW II
Eisenhower took his career as a military officer seriously. However, it took some time before he got the opportunity to show off his talents. During WW I, he wanted to serve in Europe. His multiple requests were denied and he was assigned the responsibility for training tank crews. Nevertheless, his career took off and in 1941, he was promoted the rank of brigadier general.
In the very beginning of WW II, Eisenhower significantly contributed to the development of strategies of various operations. His efforts and valuable knowledge were soon noticed. New and great opportunities for advancing appeared.
Starting from December 1943 and up to the very end of WW II Eisenhower was the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. It was under his command that the well-known Operation Overlord was planned and carried out.
5. Dwight Eisenhower proposed the idea of building highways
It was exactly during the Eisenhauer’s presidency when the Interstate Highway System was built. He considered the highways to be a perfect solution to the traffic issues that existed in the USA (traffic jams, an increasing number of car accidents and goods transportation inefficiency), an important fact about Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The project required big financial expenses. Still, it was worth the time and money spent. The system of highways served as a great solution to the traffic issues. Besides, the level of unemployment decreased. Los-Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta and several other cities started to rapidly develop.
6. Dwight Eisenhower was the founder of NASA
Dwight Eisenhower can be said to have been the one who created a solid foundation for the future development of cosmology and space discovery in the USA. In 1958 he sent a request to the Congress proposing to create NASA, a civilian space agency that was busy with space exploration plans and development of necessary equipment.
The Space Race that followed was considered to be one of the Cold War consequences. The goal of spacewalking was accomplished in one of the first NASA projects. In 1969 American astronauts landed on the Moon. The Space Race ended when the first International Space Station was built. In order for the project to be completed, international collaboration was required.
7. Dwight Eisenhower encouraged the development of ARPANET
The foundation of ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) is one of Eisenhower’s biggest achievements. The agency’s main goal was to develop computer technologies for military purposes. This was the agency that developed the first packet-switching network called ARPANET, an interesting fact about Dwight D. Eisenhower. The event was the first step on the way to the following Internet development. The first trials were successfully carried out in 1969 when the scientists managed to send via the net the word “Login”.
8. Dwight Eisenhower was the developer of Priorities Matrix
One of Eisenhower’s biggest achievements in life is the development of a special matrix. The matrix allowed him to successfully deal with the tasks at hand and manage his own time. The matrix is based on 2 factors: the factor of importance and the factor of urgency.
Eisenhower believed that there was a big difference between important tasks and urgent tasks. He often stated that urgent tasks rarely were important. Today the matrix developed by Eisenhower lies at the core of every time-managing technique.
Conclusion
We hope that the facts provided will allow our readers to get a general view of Eisenhower’s life and achievements. His lifetime was marked by success and achievements in military field as well as in the fields of economy and cosmology. He died in March 1969 in Washington, D.C. His wife Maine was holding his hand during his last hours.
I hope that this article on Eisenhower facts was helpful. If you are interested, visit the Historical People Page!
