Mamie Eisenhower

Mary Geneva Doud Eisenhower (November 14, 1896 – November 1, 1979), known as Mamie, was the wife of Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961.

Related Topics:
November 14 - 1896 - November 1 - 1979 - Dwight D. Eisenhower - First Lady of the United States - 1953 - 1961

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Born in Boone, Iowa, Mamie Doud moved with her family to Colorado when she was seven. Her father, John Sheldon Doud, had retired at the age of 36 after making a fortune in the meatpacking industry. After briefly living in Pueblo then Colorado Springs, the Douds settled in Denver. Mamie and her three sisters grew up in a large house with several servants.

Related Topics:
Boone, Iowa - Colorado - Meatpacking - Pueblo - Colorado Springs - Denver

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During winters the family made long visits to relatives in the milder climate of San Antonio, Texas. There, in 1915, at Fort Sam Houston, Mamie met Dwight D. Eisenhower, a young second lieutenant on his first tour of duty. On St. Valentine's Day in 1916 he gave her a miniature of his West Point class ring to seal a formal engagement; they were married at the Doud home in Denver on July 1.

Related Topics:
San Antonio, Texas - Fort Sam Houston - St. Valentine's Day - West Point - July 1

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For years Mamie Eisenhower's life followed the pattern of other Army wives: a succession of posts in the United States, in the Panama Canal Zone; duty in France, in the Philippines. She once estimated that in 37 years she had unpacked her household at least 27 times. Each move meant another step in the career ladder for her husband, with increasing responsibilities for her.

Related Topics:
Army - Panama Canal Zone - France - Philippines

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The first son Doud Dwight or "Icky," who was born in 1917, died of scarlet fever in 1921. A second child, John, was born in 1922 in Denver. Like his father he had a career in the army; later he became an author and served as a U.S. ambassador to Belgium.

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During World War II, while promotion and fame came to "Ike," his wife lived in Washington, DC. After he became president of Columbia University in 1948, the Eisenhowers purchased a farm at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the first home they had ever owned. His duties as commander of North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces—and hers as his hostess at a villa near Paris—delayed work on their dream home, finally completed in 1955.

Related Topics:
World War II - Washington, DC - Columbia University - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - North Atlantic Treaty Organization - Villa

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They celebrated with a housewarming picnic for the staff from their last temporary quarters: the White House. Diplomacy—and air travel—in the postwar world brought changes in their official hospitality. The Eisenhowers entertained an unprecedented number of heads of state and leaders of foreign governments.

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In 1961 the Eisenhowers returned to Gettysburg for eight years of contented retirement together. After her husband's death in 1969, Mamie continued to live on the farm. Mamie Eisenhower died on November 1, 1979 at the age of 82. She is buried beside her husband in a small chapel on the grounds of the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas.

Related Topics:
November 1 - 1979 - Eisenhower Library - Abilene, Kansas

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