The 43 Presidents
of the
United States of America

Dwight David Eisenhower

34th President
1953 - 1961

Dwight D. Eisenhower was the thirty-fourth President of the United States.  President Eisenhower was the oldest President to leave the office of Presidency.  He was 70 years and 98 days old.

Important events during President Eisenhower's administration were:

• Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed on June 19, 1953.  They were the first atomic spies executed for treason in peacetime.

• Nautilus, the first atomic submarine, was launched from Groton, Connecticut on January 21, 1954.

• Puerto Rican nationalists fired shots at five representatives of the House of Representatives on March 1, 1954.

• The Supreme Court declared that racial segregation in the public schools was unconstitutional on May 17, 1954.

• The Communist party was outlawed on August 24, 1954.

• Social Security coverage was increased to include 10 million additional people on September 1, 1954.

• The Southeast Asia defense treaty (SEATO) was signed on September 8, 1954.

• The first telecast of a cabinet meeting took place on October 25, 1954.

• Jonas Salk's vaccine against polio was approved as "safe, effective and potent" on April 12, 1955.

• The United States occupation of Germany ended on April 21, 1955.

• President Eisenhower suffered a heart attack on September 24, 1955.

• President Eisenhower had emergency surgery on his intestines on June 9, 1956.

• The Army's first  nuclear power reactor was dedicated at Fort Belvoir, Virginia by the Secretary of the Army on April 29, 1957.

• The Civil Rights Commission was established on September 9, 1957.

• The first underground nuclear explosion took place on September 19, 1957 at the Nevada proving grounds.

• President Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce integration of African American students on September 24, 1957.

• President Eisenhower suffered a mild stroke on November 25, 1957.

• The first American satellite, Explorer I, was launched on January 31, 1958.

• The Unknown Soldier of World War II was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on Mary 30, 1958.

• NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was established on July 29, 1958.

• Hawaii was admitted as the 50th state on August 21, 1959.

Dwight Eisenhower was:

• the first President born in Texas.

• the fourteenth President who lived in a state other than where he was born.

• the first President to be limited to two terms.

• the first Republican in the 20th century to win two  successive presidential elections.

• the first President of the fifty states.

• the first President to serve with three congresses where the opposing party was in control.

• the first President to have a pilot's license.

• the first President to go under water in an atomic-powered submarine.

• the first President to be telecast in color.

• the first President to allow direct quotations to be used by reporters.

• the first President to have a heart attack while President.