Which Presidents Were Born in Texas?

Even though Pres. George W. Bush was the governor of Texas before he became the 43rd president of the United States, he was not born in Texas. Rather, he was born in Connecticut. There has only been one president who was born in Texas.

Geography

The 43 presidents of the United States were born in a total of 17 states. The most, eight, were born in Virginia. Ohio is the birthplace of seven presidents and New York is the birthplace of three presidents. Two presidents were born in North Carolina, Vermont, and New Jersey. South Carolina, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Iowa, Missouri, Georgia, Illinios, and Arkansas join Texas as states that are the birthplaces of just one president each.

Identification

Dwight David Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, was the only president born in Texas. He was born on October 14, 1890, in Dennison, Texas, the third son of a total of seven. He went to college at West Point. This started a long and very successful military career. When he was based in Texas, he met his wife, Mamie. They got married in 1916.

Significance

By World War Two, Eisenhower had been promoted to general. He was the commanding general of the US forces in Europe in 1942 and the next year he became the Supreme Commander of the Allies. He was the person in charge of organizing the D-Day advance that ultimately resulted in the defeat of the Axis forces under Nazi Germany. D-Day was June 6, 1944. This made Eisenhower very popular with Americans all across the nation. He was a national hero.

Effects

Ike, the nickname that everyone affectionately called General Eisenhower, became the Republican candidate for the president of the United States against the Democrat, Adlai Stevenson. Richard M. Nixon, who would become the country's 37th president, was his running mate and the vice president. It didn't hurt Eisenhower's campaign that his slogan rhymed--it was "I like Ike." Probably a lot of people remembered to vote for him because of that slogan.

Time Frame

He served as the president from 1953 to 1961 and was succeeded by Pres. John F. Kennedy who was assassinated in Texas. While Eisenhower was president, two more states entered the union, Alaska and Hawaii. So far, no president has been born in either of these two states.

Resources

• Ike's Official Biography