Dwight David Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas on October 14, 1890 to David Jacob and Ida Elizabeth (Stover) Eisenhower. He was raised in Abilene, Kansas, where he graduated from the high school in 1909. After applying to both West Point and Annapolis military academies, he was admitted to West Point in 1911, graduating in 1915 and receiving his commission as second lieutenant. He graduated from the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1926.

Eisenhower served in the Panama Canal and the Philippines in the 1920s and 1930s, reaching the rank of brigadier general by 1941. He directed the Allied invasions of North Africa, Sicily, and Italy in 1942-1943 and at the end of 1943 was appointed Supreme Commander by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in which capacity Eisenhower oversaw the Normandy Invasion of June 6, 1944.

Eisenhower was briefly president of Columbia University (1948-1949) and NATO Commander (1950-1952) before running for the U.S. presidency on an "I like Ike" campaign ("Ike" was his childhood nickname). Eisenhower served two terms as President, from 1953-1961, during the early years of the Cold War. Major accomplishments during his presidency included the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958, the interstate highway system starting in 1956, and authorizing People to People International in 1956.

Dwight D. Eisenhower died on March 28, 1969 in Washington, D.C. and was buried in Abilene, Kansas at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library.