David Eisenhower

American writer (born 1948)

This article is about the grandson of the U.S. president. For the 34th U.S. president, see Dwight David Eisenhower.

David Eisenhower

Eisenhower in 2021

Born|

Dwight David Eisenhower II

(1948-03-31) March 31, 1948 (age 77)

West Point, New York, U.S.

Alma mater| Amherst College (BA)
George Washington University (JD)
Occupation(s)| Author, professor
Known for| Partial namesake of Camp David
Spouse|

Julie Nixon

(m. 1968)​

Children| 3, including Jennie
Parents|

* John Eisenhower (father)
* Barbara Thompson (mother)

Relatives| Dwight Eisenhower (grandfather)
Richard Nixon (father-in-law)
Mamie Eisenhower (grandmother)
Pat Nixon (mother-in-law)

Dwight David Eisenhower II (born March 31, 1948) is an American author, public policy fellow, lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, and eponym of the U.S. presidential retreat Camp David. He is the grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, and a son-in-law of President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon.

## Early life

[edit]

Eisenhower, then age 12, poses with a sign in 1960 at the presidential retreat named after him

Dwight David Eisenhower II, better known as David, was named after his grandfather, Ike. David was born on March 31, 1948, in West Point, New York, to Barbara (Thompson) and John Eisenhower, the only son and eldest of four children. His father was a U.S. Army officer, and his grandfather was Dwight D. Eisenhower, future president of the United States, and former Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe during World War II.

His father would go on to be a brigadier general in the U.S. Army Reserve, United States Ambassador to Belgium (1969–1971), and a renowned military historian. His grandfather would become president of Columbia University (1948–1953), and later the 34th president of the United States (1953–1961). After assuming the presidency in 1953, President Eisenhower renamed the presidential mountain retreat, formerly Camp Shangri-La, Camp David, both after his grandson and his father, David Jacob Eisenhower.[1]

## Education

[edit]

Eisenhower graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1966. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history cum laude from Amherst College in 1970 where he sang in the collegiate a cappella group the Zumbyes.[2][3] After college, he served for three years as an officer in the United States Naval Reserve.[4] During this time, he was assigned to the USS Albany in the Mediterranean Sea.[5] He then earned his J.D. degree cum laude from The George Washington University Law School in 1976.[6]

He was at least loosely identified with the Nixon administration, when he accepted a request to attend the funeral of Dan Mitrione in 1970, the operative whose activities in training Uruguayan police in torture techniques, when later publicized, caused profound controversy,[7] although there has been no suggestion that Eisenhower had any knowledge of Mitrione's controversial activities.

He is today a teaching adjunct and public policy fellow at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania,[8][9] author,[6] and co-chair of the Foreign Policy Research Institute's History Institute for Teachers. From 2001 to 2003, he was editor of Orbis, a quarterly published by the institute.[6]

Eisenhower was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history in 1987 for his work Eisenhower At War, 1943-1945 about the Allied leadership during World War II.[6][10]

He is the host of a public television series called The Whole Truth with David Eisenhower, distributed by American Public Television.[11]

## Personal life

[edit]

Julie and David Eisenhower (age 23) in 1971

On December 22, 1968, Eisenhower married Julie Nixon, a daughter of then President-elect Nixon, who had served as Dwight Eisenhower's vice president. The couple had known each other since meeting at the 1956 Republican National Convention and David Eisenhower had escorted Julie Nixon as her civilian escort at the International Debutante Ball at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. [12] The Reverend Norman Vincent Peale officiated in the non-denominational rite at the Marble Collegiate Church in New York City.[13][14]

Eisenhower and Julie live in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.[15] They have three children: actress Jennie Elizabeth Eisenhower (born August 15, 1978);[16] Alexander Richard Eisenhower (b. 1980); and Melanie Catherine Eisenhower (b. 1984).[17] They also have three grandchildren.

## In popular culture

[edit]

Due to his connection with Julie and President Nixon, Eisenhower was one inspiration for the Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Fortunate Son", released in 1969.[18] The song's author and singer, John Fogerty, wrote:

> 'Fortunate Son' wasn't really inspired by any one event. Julie Nixon was dating David Eisenhower. You'd hear about the son of this senator or that congressman who was given a deferment from the military or a choice position in the military. They seemed privileged and whether they liked it or not, these people were symbolic in the sense that they weren't being touched by what their parents were doing. They weren't being affected like the rest of us.[19]

In the satirical 1976 film Tunnel Vision, Eisenhower is identified as President of the United States in the then-future year of 1985, succeeding an African-American woman named Washington, who in turn took over from George Wallace.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Camp David" Archived 2018-09-17 at the Wayback Machine at Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home" site. Says "Ike re-named it 'Camp David' in honor of his grandson David Eisenhower." Retrieved August 3, 2012.
2. ^ "THE 60's COME TO A FULL BOIL 1968". The New York Times. 1977-11-13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-03-11.
3. ^ "David Eisenhower - Trivia". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-03-11.
4. ^ Time, February 9, 1970.
5. ^ snopes (18 December 2015). "Is Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'Fortunate Son' About Al Gore? : snopes.com". snopes.
6. ^ a b c d "David Eisenhower, Grandson of 34th President, to Address Misericordia Commencement Ceremony" (Press release). Misericordia University. April 9, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
7. ^ "Dan Mitrione, un maestro de la tortura". 2 September 2001. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
8. ^ "Lindback and Provost's Awards: 2003 Winners — Provost's Award: David Eisenhower". Almanac. University of Pennsylvania. April 22, 2003. Archived from the original on September 20, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
9. ^ "David Eisenhower is named recipient of the Provost's Award for Distinguished Teaching". The Annenberg School for Communication at University of Pennsylvania. April 18, 2003. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
10. ^ "History (Winners & Finalists)". The Pulitzer Prizes. Columbia University. Retrieved November 13, 2008.
11. ^ "The Whole Truth With David Eisenhower - Television Series". Archived from the original on 2017-04-26. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
12. ^ Yazigi, Monique (January 1997). "The Debutante Returns, With Pearls and Plans". The New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
13. ^ Kunen, James S. (December 16, 1985). "Iowa-Born Actor Fred Grandy, Alias Love Boat's Gopher Smith, Plots a Course for Washington". People. Vol. 24, no. 25\. New York: Time Inc. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
14. ^ "Portrait of Julie Nixon and David Eisenhower with Maid of Honor and Best Man". Getty Images. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
15. ^ Bennett, Kitty (December 22, 2010). "Where Are They Now? Julie and David Eisenhower". AARP Bulletin. p. 1. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
16. ^ David Eisenhower at IMDb
17. ^ "'Going Home to Glory': Portrait of a general, president, and grandfather". philly-archives. Archived from the original on March 19, 2011.
18. ^ "Is Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'Fortunate Son' About Al Gore?". Urban Legends Reference Pages. Snopes.com. 15 August 2006. Retrieved August 25, 2006.
19. ^ Fogerty, John (2015). Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music. With Jimmy McDonough. Little, Brown. p. 190\. ISBN 978-0316244565.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Eisenhower, David (1986). Eisenhower at War 1943-1945. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-41237-0. OCLC 7554526.

## External links

[edit]

* Biography portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Eisenhower.

* "Annenberg Public Policy Center (University of Pennsylvania) website". Retrieved November 12, 2008.
* Appearances on C-SPAN

* v
* t
* e

Dwight D. Eisenhower

* 34th President of the United States (1953–1961)
* Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1951–1952)
* Chief of Staff of the Army (1945–1948)
* Commander, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (1943–1945)

Military
career|

* Military career
* 1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy
* Louisiana Maneuvers
* Operation Torch
* European Theater of Operations
* Allied invasion of Sicily
* Armistice of Cassibile
* June 6, 1944, order of the day
* People of Western Europe speech
* Normandy landings
* Operation Veritable
* Berlin Declaration
* Military Governor, U.S. Occupation Zone in Germany
* Disarmed Enemy Forces
* European Advisory Commission
* Supreme Commander of NATO, 1951-1952

Presidency
(timeline)|

* Transition
* 1953 inauguration
* 1957 inauguration
* State of the Union Address
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* Cabinet
* Judicial appointments
* Supreme Court
* Farewell address
* "Military–industrial complex"
* Kennedy transition
* Executive Orders
* Presidential Proclamations

| Foreign policy|

* Eisenhower Doctrine
* Korean War
* 1953; Korean Armistice Agreement
* 1953 Iranian coup d'état
* "Chance for Peace" speech (1953)
* Cold War
* Domino theory
* Khrushchev, Eisenhower and De-Stalinization
* New Look policy
* 1955 Geneva Summit
* 1960 U-2 incident
* Atomic Energy Act of 1954
* Atoms for Peace
* Restricted Data
* Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954
* Food for Peace
* Suez Crisis (1956)
* DARPA (1958)
* EURATOM Cooperation Act of 1958
* National Aeronautics and Space Act
* 1958; NASA
* Operation 40 (1960)

|

Domestic policy|

* Executive Order 10479 (1953)
* Outer Continental Shelf Act (1953)
* Refugee Relief Act (1953)
* Submerged Lands Act (1953)
* U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1953)
* Agricultural Act of 1954
* National Wool Act of 1954
* Special Milk Program
* Excise Tax Reduction Act of 1954
* Internal Revenue Code of 1954
* Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954
* Small Watershed Program
* Air Pollution Control Act of 1955
* Agricultural Act of 1956
* Soil Bank Act
* Soil Bank Program
* Federal Voting Assistance Program (1955)
* Bank Holding Company Act (1956)
* Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956
* Interstate Highway System
* Highway Trust Fund
* Fish and Wildlife Act (1956)
* People to People Student Ambassador Program (1956)
* President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (1956)
* Civil Rights Act of 1957
* U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
* U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
* Federal Plant Pest Act of 1957
* Little Rock Nine intervention (1957)
* Price–Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act (1957)
* Alaska Statehood Act (1958)
* Humane Slaughter Act (1958)
* National Defense Education Act
* 1958; Federal Perkins Loan
* Student loans in the United States
* Hawaii Admission Act (1959)
* Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960
* Civil Rights Act of 1960
* Sikes Act (1960)

Books|

* Crusade in Europe (1948)

Elections|

* Draft Eisenhower movement
* Republican Party presidential primaries (1948
* 1952
* 1956)
* Republican National Convention (1952
* 1956)
* United States Presidential election (1952
* 1956)

Legacy|

* Bibliography
* Birthplace
* Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, gravesite
* Boyhood home
* Eisenhower National Historic Site
* Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial
* Eisenhower Executive Office Building
* Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport
* Eisenhower Fellowships
* Eisenhower Institute
* Eisenhower Monument
* Eisenhower dollar
* Eisenhower Centennial silver dollar
* U.S. Postage stamps
* Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center
* Eisenhower Medical Center
* Eisenhower Trophy
* Eisenhower Tunnel
* Eisenhower Golf Club
* Eisenhower Theater
* Statue of Dwight D. Eisenhower (U.S. Capitol)
* Fort Eisenhower
* Mount Eisenhower
* Places named for Eisenhower
* Other tributes and memorials

Popular
culture|

* Eisenhower jacket
* Eisenhower Tree
* Crusade in Europe (1949 television series)
* Backstairs at the White House (1979 miniseries)
* Ike (1979 miniseries)
* Ike: Countdown to D-Day (2004 film)
* Pressure (2014 play)

Family|

* Mary "Mamie" Geneva Doud Eisenhower (wife)
* John Eisenhower (son)
* David Eisenhower (grandson)
* Anne Eisenhower (granddaughter)
* Susan Eisenhower (granddaughter)
* Mary Jean Eisenhower (granddaughter)
* Jennie Eisenhower (great-granddaughter)
* Ida Stover Eisenhower (mother)
* Arthur Eisenhower (brother)
* Edgar N. Eisenhower (brother)
* Roy Eisenhower (brother)
* Earl D. Eisenhower (brother)
* Milton S. Eisenhower (brother)

Related|

* Eisenhower baseball controversy
* Camp David
* "And I don't care what it is"
* Atoms for Peace Award
* Introduction to Outer Space
* Eddie Slovik
* Kay Summersby

* ← Harry S. Truman
* John F. Kennedy →

* Category

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Italy
* Czech Republic
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Israel

Academics|

* CiNii

Other|

* IdRef
* NARA
* SNAC
* Yale LUX

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