West Point graduate Dwight D. Eisenhower quickly climbed the Army career ladder, serving under Generals John J. Pershing and Douglas MacArthur and ultimately achieving the rank of five-star general. He led Allied forces during World War II, directing the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France.

After the war, in 1948, he became president of Columbia University. Two years later President Truman asked him to assume supreme command over the new NATO forces. With the 1952 presidential election nearing, a grassroots movement began to persuade Eisenhower to run. Choosing the Republican Party and adopting “I like Ike” as his slogan, he won a sweeping victory and was re-elected four years later.

Eisenhower saw an end to the Korean War in 1953. The next year, racial segregation in public schools was ruled unconstitutional. In 1957, President Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation. He also signed legislation in 1956 creating the nation’s interstate highway system, which has been called the greatest public works project in history.

After the presidency, the Eisenhowers retired to their farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Eight years after leaving office, at the age of 78, the former president died.