President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Interesting Facts

Broke his leg playing football in college.

Had two sons, and four grandchildren. The eldest son died of scarlet fever in 1921, but the second son married and had four children.

His grandson David married Julie Nixon, the daughter of Dwight’s vice president, Richard Nixon.

Events

Became the 34th president of the United States on January 20th, 1953.

Stepped down from office after two terms of four years, on January 20th, 1961.

Died on March 28th, 1969, at the age of 78.

Tags: Katie, Biographies, Post World War II

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Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill had a love for soldiers even when he was little. He had an army of toy soldiers that he spent all his spare time commanding. He dreaded lessons and often hid from his governess at school time. Eventually, he was sent to a boarding school. He wrote to his nanny and mother, telling them how much he missed them.

 

His nanny visited regularly, and this comforted him. When she came though, she was shocked; there were bullies, and frequent beatings and such. She begged his parents to send him to a different school, and they finally consented. When he was 12, he was moved to Harrow, a highly rated school. By then, Winston had grown taller and stronger, and he no longer dreaded school lessons as much. At the end of each semester, he went back to his house to rest.

 

One day he was playing with his younger brother, Jack, when his father burst into the nursery. Winston jumped. He feared that his father was going to scold him about his poor school reports. Instead, his father paced back and forth, inspecting the toy soldiers. Then he peered at Winston. “Would you like to join the army?” He said. Winston was so surprised, he just spluttered, “Yes please!”. He was, in fact, thrilled at the idea of commanding actual troops. And so, his career decided, he joined an army class in school at the age of only 14.

 

Although joining an army class at school was simple, it was not simple at all for Winston to join the army. He took an entrance exam for the military training school, and failed…twice. His father would not have him failing a third time, so he had him take intensive lessons from an acquaintance of his father. However, before Winston could meet the teacher, Captain James, he seriously injured himself. He had been playing a game of chase, and he got cornered on a bridge, with his cousin on one end, and his brother on the other. He underestimated the height from the bridge to the ground, and was unable to leave his bed for 3 months.

 

He spent some time with his father, a politician, and decided that, “When I’m not leading an army, I want to be here, fighting for my people. Finally, he finished his lessons with Captain James, and with his help, passed the exam into Sandhurst (the English Westpoint). Winston loved every minute of it. He was taught strategy and tactics instead of the subjects he had found dreadfully boring at school.

 

At Sandhurst, he was taught to ride a horse. He very much enjoyed riding and spent all of his spare time and most of his money on horses. The Calvary very much drew him in, and when he graduated, he joined a Calvary regiment against his mother’s wishes.

 

Shortly after his 21^st birthday, he sailed to India with the Fourth Hussars. Winston was very well educated and had traveled to numerous countries by the time he was 23, but he still wasn’t satisfied. He still had not fought in an actual battle. Much to his relief, he heard of a revolt on the Indian border. He was eager to join in the fight. He sent a message to the captain of the team, asking if they could use him, and eventually, he got a reply saying that they would try to fit him in. He took a train, and arrived immediately. He finally experienced what he had been waiting to experience, and was delighted to be a part of it.

 

Winston eventually joined another team, led by Captain Kitchener. They had a difficult and strenuous journey, but finally they arrived. Suddenly, they spied a long brown smear on the horizon. Winston felt excited as he galloped towards the enemy, because this was the first time he would experience a real battle from the front lines. They won the battle, and Winston went into politics. The first time, he campaigned for the conservatives, and the liberals won. But the people were impressed by his speeches, and he began to see a career into politics opening up. But before he could pursue it, he joined another battle, where he was captured. He made plans with his fellow prisoners to escape, and he did, but his friends never came. Winston grew up, became a politician, got married, and in 3 years, had 2 children, Diana first, and Randolph, second. He became the First Lord of the Admiralty, and with the position, got a large house and a yacht.

 

He worked often, but when he wasn’t working, he spent a day off with his family in the countryside, or having a picnic. The British government began to get worried about Hitler. He was advancing his battleship fleet. “He is building 3 battleships a year, so that means that we must build 4.” Winston’s wife, Clementine gave birth to a third child, Sarah, while Winston was fighting for Belgium, which Hitler had just invaded. They still hadn’t been defeated, when Winston was demoted from being the First Lord of the admiralty, and became a minor part in the war council. He was insulted and injured, and he resigned from government and was very depressed.

 

In later days, however, he took heart and involved himself in politics once more. He ran for, and was elected as prime minister at the age of 65. He proved to be an excellent prime minister, and was elected for a second term at the old age 0f 77. He lived a good and wise life, and at the “ripe old age” of 90, he suffered a massive stroke and died. He was well remembered, and a massive funeral was given to remember that courageous leader.

Tags: Katie, Pre World War II, World War II, Biographies

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Amelia Earhart

In 1897, Amelia Mary Earhart was born in a little town in Kansas named Atchison. She was the daughter of a German immigrant, Samuel Stanton Earhart and his wife, also named Amelia. She had one younger sister, Grace.

Even at a young age, she was very adventurous. When she was seven, her family went to the St. Louis world fair. There was a roller coaster there, and she begged her mother to go on it with her. When her mother refused, her father agreed to take her on it. This excited her greatly, and she squealed with joy as she went flying the air.

She did not start off her grown up life as an aviator. When she was young, she volunteered for almost a year to be a nurse in a military hospital. It wasn’t until she went to an airplane show (which were popular at the time) that she realized she would like to become a pilot.

She became only the 16^th woman to be granted an aviation license. In 1928, she was the first woman to fly over the Atlantic- as a passenger. Then in 1932, she repeated the trip as the pilot. She was also the very first pilot to ever fly solo from Hawaii to California.

Amelia was not as successful, however on her attempted circumnavigation of the Earth. In 1937 she started her flight, but not even half-way through, her brand new plane gave out. Embarrassed, she traveled back to America from Hawaii.

A couple months later Amelia tried again. This time she made it 20,000 miles, but while attempting to radio a Coast Guard ship that would guide and help her, she disappeared and was pronounced dead in 1939 at the would-be age of 41. There have been rumors about how she died, based on remnants of things from her airplane, but nothing has been proven.

Tags: Katie, Biographies, Pre-World War II

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Gladys May Aylward started as a London parlour-maid. She became a Christian, and prayed to God continually to send her somewhere that she could be of use.  In the meantime, though, she stood on a box in the middle of the street, and preached the word of God to anyone who would listen.

Soon after, she felt a call to China. She inquired everywhere about how she could become involved in Chinese mission work. Missions advisers rejected her applications, saying that she was “unqualified to go”.  However she was determined, and worked for several months until she could earn enough money to board a train to Yangcheng and become a missionary. She had made arrangements such that she would be an apprentice to a Mrs. Jeannie Lawson.

When she got there, she started helping repair an old inn that Mrs. Lawson had bought and soon after it was built and ready to go. They named it “The Inn of Eight Happinesses”. However, when she tried to advertise their inn for people to stay there, they fled on their mules. When Gladys asked their Chinese cook, Yang, why this was, he said that they were not used to white people and they called them the “Foreign devils”.

Soon after, Gladys took to grabbing the mules’ halter and steering it into the inn’s stable. That way the men would have no choice but to come to the inn and stay.  After she started that, many other muleteers followed suit.  Soon, the Inn of Eight Happinesses was thriving. Mrs. Lawson spoke of God in the dining room, while Gladys washed dishes and talked to Yang.

Soon Jeannie Lawson died in an accident, and Yang took over the story-telling, and Gladys did all of the chores. She soon become very well known and loved, and was appointed chief foot inspector by the mandarin of Yangcheng.

Soon after, war started between Japan and China. Fighter planes dropped bombs all over Yangcheng. By this time Gladys had taken in many young children. She knew it was not safe for them to be there while the war was on, so she made arrangements for them at an orphanage in Sian, and they trekked for a very long time on a very arduous journey, and made it to Sian in little more than 2 weeks.

Gladys Aylward died at the age of 67, in Taiwan, having become a Chinese citizen, and having led a miraculous life.

Tags: Katie, Biographies, Pre-World War II,

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