Early Life and Military Career 10 Chapter 1 he future president was born in 1890 Most published sources refer to his birth name as David Dwight Eisenhower which is also how it appears in the family Bible Two biographers of Eisenhower Stephen Ambrose and Carlo D’Este believe that his mother reversed his given names to Dwight David shortly after his birth She reportedly did this partly because she did not like nicknames and thought that Dwight could never be shortened and partly because she thought it would be confusing to have a son with the same name as his father David Boyhood in Kansas The name Eisenhower comes from German words meaning a kind of ironworker The T
Early Life and Military Career Right running head president’s father David Eisenhower was descended from German immigrants who had settled in Pennsylvania during the 1730s In 1878 the family moved to Abilene Kansas The president’s mother Ida Elizabeth Stover Eisenhower had moved from Virginia to Kansas in 1883 Eisenhower’s parents met at a United Brethren school in Lecompton Kansas They married in 1885 A few years later David Eisenhower moved his family from Abilene to Denison Texas Dwight was born there on October 14 1890 He was the third of his par ents seven sons one of whom died of diphtheria Eisenhower pictured with his brothers lived in this home in Abilene Kansas from 1892 until he left for West Point in 1911 11 11
Dwight D Eisenhower when he was 10 months old Two years after Dwight’s birth the family returned to Abilene The future president with his brothers Arthur Edgar Roy Earl and Milton grew up on the old homestead of his grandfa ther Jacob Eisenhower In 1947 this home became a national shrine Family souvenirs and papers are housed in the Eisenhower Presidential Museum opened in Abilene in 1954 David worked in a creamery and the family was poor Dwight and his brothers were introduced to hard work and a strong religious tradition at an early age During his school days young Dwight was Major Dwight D Eisenhower standing third from left with his brothers and his parents in about 1935 12 12
Early Life and Military Career Right running head usually called Ike by his friends The nickname stayed with him throughout his life Ike’s favor ite school subjects were English history and geometry but he took only a moderate interest in his studies Even as an adult Eisenhower did not enjoy the company of scholars He much preferred sports and excelled at both baseball and football Early Military Career and Marriage Ike graduated from Abilene High School in 1909 For the next two years he worked in a creamery to help pay Edgar’s expenses at college In 1911 he took the entrance exami nation for the Military Academy at West Point His mother who was a pacifist cried when she found out Ike wanted to join the military Though he ranked second in the tests he obtained the appointment when the top candidate failed to pass the physical examination The young cadet was a promising halfback on the academy football team but had to give up the game after injuring his knee Eisenhower graduated from West Point in 1915 and was 13
