President: Dwight D. Eisenhower

Wife: Mary "Mamie" Geneva Doud (1896-1979), on July 1, 1916

Kids: Doud Dwight Eisenhower (1917-21); John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower (1923- )

Pets: Heidi, a Weimaraner

Bio: Dwight David Eisenhower, (1890-1969) was the 34th President of the United States. He was the son of fundamental Christians who became Jehovah’s Witnesses. Dwight did not assume his parent’s devout religious convictions, instead focusing on athletics. In 1911 he entered the Military Academy at West Point. Two weeks after reporting for duty as a 2d lieutenant of Infantry at Fort Sam Houston, he met Mamie Geneva Doud and on July 1, 1916, they were married in Denver. They had two sons, one of which died in childhood.

He climbed the military ladder throughout the first world war and Panama Canal Zone occupation. Then from 1929 to 1933, Eisenhower served in the office of the assistant secretary of war. Eisenhower spent the next four years in the Philippines helping MacArthur build up the defenses of the islands. He was unhappy with the post and was anxious to command troops.

On Dec. 14, 1941, Eisenhower was called to Washington to take charge of the War Plans Division and in 1942 was promoted to major general and head of the Operations Division. Soon he took command of the U.S. forces in the European Theater of Operations.

He gained national recognition during WWII as an excellent general. He ran for the presidency as a Republican and won in 1952, with Richard Nixon as his vice-president.

Eisenhower brought an understanding of foreign affairs and world issues to the presidency, and strove to learn about domestic issues. He never pushed for more federal government control because he believed in individual liberties and local control.

He suffered a heart attack in September 1955 while vacationing in Colorado, but recovered quickly enough to run for a second term. After retirement, he suffered two serious heart attack and died in Washington, D.C., on March 28, 1969.