93 Facts About Mamie Eisenhower

Mary Geneva "Mamie" Eisenhower was the first lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 as the wife of President Dwight D Eisenhower.

Mamie Eisenhower married Dwight D Eisenhower, then a lieutenant in the United States Army, in 1916.

Mamie Eisenhower kept house and served as hostess for military officers as they moved between various postings in the United States, Panama, the Philippines, and France.

Mamie Eisenhower closely managed the staff, and her frugality was apparent in White House budgeting throughout her tenure.

Mamie Eisenhower entertained many foreign heads of state in her role as hostess.

Mamie Eisenhower showed little interest in politics and was rarely involved in political discussion, though she did support soldiers' welfare and civil rights causes.

Mamie Eisenhower suffered from poor balance due to Meniere's disease, giving rise to rumors of alcoholism.

Mamie Eisenhower was popular during her tenure as first lady, and she was recognized as a fashion icon, known for her iconic bangs and frequent use of the color pink.

Mamie and Dwight Eisenhower were married for 52 years until his death in March 1969.

Mamie Eisenhower suffered a stroke on September 25,1979, and resided in the hospital until her death on November 1.

Mary Geneva "Mamie Eisenhower" Doud was born in Boone, Iowa, as the second child to meatpacking executive John Sheldon Doud and his wife Elivera Mathilda Carlson.

Mamie Eisenhower grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Denver, Colorado; and the Doud winter home in San Antonio, Texas.

Mamie Eisenhower's mother was a daughter of Swedish immigrants, and Swedish was often spoken at home.

Mamie Eisenhower had investments in Illinois and Iowa stockyards, producing a sizeable fortune.

Mamie Eisenhower's wealth provided the family with many comforts, including servants that tended to their needs and connections with high society.

Mamie Eisenhower had three sisters: her older sister Eleanor Carlson Doud, and her two younger sisters Eda Mae Doud and Mabel Frances "Mike" Doud.

Mamie Eisenhower came down with a severe case of rheumatic fever as a child, bringing about a lifelong concern for health.

Mamie Eisenhower's family traveled extensively, and when she grew older, she was sent to Wolcott School for Girls for finishing school.

Doud had many suitors, but she began courting Dwight D "Ike" Eisenhower in 1915, who at the time was a second lieutenant.

Mamie Eisenhower broke convention by inviting her to tour the facility with him while he made his rounds.

Mamie Eisenhower was immediately infatuated with him, but she initially turned him down when he asked her on a date.

Mamie Eisenhower pursued her for the following month as she courted other suitors before they began to date exclusively, and they were engaged on the following Valentine's Day in 1916.

Mamie Eisenhower would go on to celebrate both Valentine's Day and Saint Patrick's Day as the anniversary of their engagement.

Mamie's father agreed to the marriage on the condition that Eisenhower did not enter the Army Air Service, as he considered it too dangerous.

Mamie Eisenhower met Ike's brother, Milton S Eisenhower, who would become a close friend to Mamie in his own right.

Mamie Eisenhower lived the life of an army wife over the following years, continually moving as her husband was stationed at different posts.

Ike and Mamie Eisenhower were often both physically and emotionally distant from one another, and Mamie Eisenhower experienced bouts of depression throughout her time as an army wife.

Mamie Eisenhower had to grow accustomed to fear and loneliness during periods of separation while her husband was traveling for the army, and Ike once told her that his duty would "always come first".

Mamie Eisenhower was devastated, and she had little to distract herself from the tragedy.

Ike had been stationed in Panama in 1922, and Mamie Eisenhower had struggled in the jungle environment.

Mamie Eisenhower rejoined him in Panama two months later, accompanied by a nurse the family had hired to help raise the baby.

Mamie Eisenhower hosted increasingly important guests as her husband's military career progressed.

When Ike was appointed as aide to General Douglas MacArthur in 1929, the family moved to Washington, DC, and "Club Mamie Eisenhower" became a popular social hub for the city's elite.

Mamie Eisenhower initially chose to stay in Washington when her husband was stationed in the Philippines in 1935, and their relationship was strained by the time she joined him the following year.

Mamie Eisenhower made her own contributions to the war effort, volunteering anonymously for the American Women's Voluntary Services and the United Service Organizations, among other groups.

Mamie Eisenhower was in constant worry of her husband's safety while he led the war effort in Europe, and she was regularly accosted by reporters, causing her to lose 20 pounds during the war.

Mamie Eisenhower's struggle was further complicated by Ike's close relationship with his chauffeur Kay Summersby; she had become a close confidant of Ike's, and rumors emerged that he had taken her as a mistress.

Mamie Eisenhower continued in her hosting duties, this time for faculty wives and large donors in addition to the friends her husband had made in the military.

When Ike agreed to run in the 1952 presidential election, Mamie Eisenhower helped campaigned for him.

Mamie Eisenhower appeared to enjoy campaigning, and she was popular among voters.

Mamie Eisenhower became first lady as the position first began to present a national public image.

Mamie Eisenhower maintained distance from the press, avoiding interviews and having her secretary Mary Jane McCaffree address reporters in her stead.

Mamie Eisenhower declined a request to write a column for the New York Herald Tribune, and she held only one press conference during her tenure.

Mamie Eisenhower was friendly with reporters when they did interact, insisting that they address her as Mamie.

Mamie Eisenhower wrote a personal response to every letter that she received and sometimes passed on concerns that the letters raised.

Mamie Eisenhower was a capable hostess, having spent much of her adult life hosting as a military wife.

Mamie Eisenhower hosted social events full time and reveled in the pageantry associated with the presidency.

Mamie Eisenhower was lauded for her social prowess, greeting and shaking hands with thousands of people during her tenure as first lady.

Mamie Eisenhower often employed male quartets and musicians such as Fred Waring to perform for guests at the White House.

Media coverage of Mamie Eisenhower was generally favorable, and it focused primarily on her personality and charm rather than politics or scandal.

Mamie Eisenhower took naturally to managing the White House and its staff, drawing on her experience as an army wife.

Mamie Eisenhower had a strained relationship with the staff after taking charge, having imposed many rules to liken them to more traditional house staff and managing them closely.

Mamie Eisenhower typically managed the White House from her bedroom, staying in bed due to her poor health.

The Eisenhowers had been accustomed to splitting their responsibilities, and Mamie was given total authority over house spending and scheduling.

Mamie Eisenhower had developed a strict frugality as an army wife, and she micromanaged White House expenses.

Mamie Eisenhower was known for her frugality, and she would even clip coupons for the White House staff.

Mamie Eisenhower was especially active during the Christmas season, during which time she had the White House heavily decorated for the occasion and bought gifts for the White House staff.

Mamie Eisenhower dedicated much time to the flower arrangements of the White House, favoring gladiolus plants.

Mamie Eisenhower held great reverence for the building itself, saying that she "never drove up to the south portico without a lump coming to [her] throat".

When Ike suffered from a heart attack in 1955, Mamie Eisenhower helped keep him warm and get him medical attention.

Mamie Eisenhower had a room set aside upstairs in the White House where he could practice his painting in solitude.

Mamie Eisenhower provided him strong emotional support at a time in which he did not have the energy or desire to carry out his responsibilities as president.

When it was unclear whether Ike would run for a second term in 1956 due to his health, Mamie Eisenhower encouraged him to run.

Mamie Eisenhower was protective of her husband during his periods of illness, at one point informing Pat Nixon without his knowledge that he was not healthy enough to campaign for Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election.

Mamie Eisenhower had little interest in the political aspects of the presidency, and she was never directly involved in her husband's decisions.

Mamie Eisenhower entered the West Wing of the White House only four times during her tenure.

Mamie Eisenhower expressed a desire to see women elected to Congress, and she sponsored several women's clubs.

Mamie Eisenhower saw to inviting Black women to the White House, including Marian Anderson and the National Council of Negro Women.

Mamie Eisenhower made appearances on occasion for the Kennedy administration, including a fundraiser for the National Cultural Center and a state dinner with the Prime Minister of Japan.

When Ike died in 1969, Mamie Eisenhower went to Belgium where their son had been serving as ambassador.

Mamie Eisenhower often stayed in her bedroom after her husband's death while Secret Service agents supported her.

Mamie Eisenhower remained close with the Nixon family after her tenure as first lady, and the two families were married together when her grandson married the Nixons' daughter in 1968.

Mamie Eisenhower appeared in a commercial to support Richard Nixon's reelection in the 1972 presidential election, and the Nixons regularly invited Mamie to the White House throughout the Nixon presidency.

Mamie Eisenhower took stronger political stances later in life; she supported the Vietnam War, though she recognized the hardship faced by American soldiers, and she opposed the women's liberation movement.

In 1973, Mamie Eisenhower finally addressed rumors of alcoholism in an interview, explaining the nature of her vertigo.

Rumors of Ike's alleged affair with Kay Summersby reemerged in the 1970s, though Mamie Eisenhower continued to say that she did not believe them.

Mamie Eisenhower was rushed to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where her husband had died a decade before.

Mamie Eisenhower was buried beside her husband in his hometown of Abilene, Kansas.

Places bearing the name Mamie Eisenhower include a park in Denver in 1957 and a library in the Denver suburb of Broomfield, Colorado in 1963.

Mamie Eisenhower was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1985.

Mamie Eisenhower was known for her sense of fashion, and her style was adopted by many women.

Mamie Eisenhower was named one of the twelve best-dressed women in the country by the New York Dress Institute every year that she was first lady.

Mamie Eisenhower's style was known as the "Mamie Look"; it involved a full-skirted dress, pink gloves, charm bracelets, pearls, little hats, purses, and bobbed, banged hair.

Mamie Eisenhower's frugality affected her fashion style, often seeking out bargains and keeping clothes long after she purchased them.

Mamie Eisenhower wore a Nettie Rosenstein gown to the 1953 inaugural balls, a pink peau de soie gown embroidered with more than 2,000 rhinestones.

Mamie Eisenhower paired the gown with matching gloves, and jewelry by Trifari.

Mamie Eisenhower carried a beaded purse by Judith Leiber.

Mamie Eisenhower first adopted her iconic bangs while Ike was stationed in Panama; she found that the hairstyle helped her keep cool in the tropical environment, and she decided to keep it after returning to the United States.

Mamie Eisenhower owned many cosmetics and perfumes, and she often visited a beauty spa to maintain her personal appearance.

Mamie Eisenhower is remembered neither as a traditionalist like Bess Truman nor as an activist like Eleanor Roosevelt.

Mamie Eisenhower's tenure occurred at a time when the role was undergoing major changes and growing in prominence.

Mamie Eisenhower played the role of the "perfect wife" of her era: highly feminine, subservient to her husband, and focused on the household.

The most significant effect that Mamie Eisenhower had on the position of first lady was the organization of a dedicated personal staff that would become the Office of the First Lady of the United States.