Milton S. Eisenhower

Milton Stover Eisenhower, (September 15, 1899 – May 2, 1985) served as president of three major American universities: Kansas State University, the Pennsylvania State University, and the Johns Hopkins University. He was the younger brother of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Edgar N. Eisenhower, and Earl D. Eisenhower.

Biography

He was born in Abilene, Kansas to Ida Elizabeth Stover (1862–1946) and David Jacob Eisenhower (1863–1942); the family was poor. Eisenhower attended public schools and graduated from Kansas State University in 1923 with a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial journalism. Eisenhower served as Director of Information for the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1928 to 1941, where he was a spokesman for the New Deal. In 1942, he was director of the War Relocation Authority, the U.S. civilian agency responsible for the relocation and internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and from 1942 to 1943, associate director of the Office of War Information.

In 1943, Eisenhower became President of Kansas State University (his alma mater), a position he held until 1950.^[1] During this time, he also served as the first Chairman of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO. In this role, Eisenhower sought to also establish UNESCO commissions for each state. He personally organized the first such commission, in Kansas.^[2]

Eisenhower was often referred to as "Doctor." However, he did not hold an earned doctoral degree; instead, he had received an honorary doctorate of humane letters (D.H.L.) from the University of Nebraska in 1949.^[3] After leaving Kansas State University in 1950, Eisenhower served as President at two other universities:

• Pennsylvania State University (1950–56)
• Johns Hopkins University (1956–1967, and 1971–72)

Eisenhower was President Emeritus of Johns Hopkins University from 1967 to 1971, and in 1972.

In 1968, he was appointed Chairman of the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

In 1980, Eisenhower appeared on the ballot in Texas as the running mate of Congressman John B. Anderson, Independent candidate for President of the United States.

Personal life

On October 12, 1927 Eisenhower married Helen Elsie Eakin (1904–1954), with whom he had a son, Milton Stover Eisenhower, Jr. (born December 11, 1930; died December 7, 2002 in Alexander City, Alabama.) and a daughter, Ruth Eakin Eisenhower (born July 21, 1938; died January 2, 1984 in Baltimore, Maryland).

Milton Eisenhower died of cancer in Baltimore, Maryland in May 1985, at the age of 85.

Legacy

• The Milton S. Eisenhower Library of Johns Hopkins University, opened in 1964 and containing 2.5 million volumes, is named after him. It historically has been referred to by Hopkins students as the "Milton Hilton" and has the unusual feature of being almost entirely underground.
• The Milton S. Eisenhower Research Center is the primary research facility at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab.
• The Milton S. Eisenhower Auditorium, a 2,595 seat center for the performing arts on the University Park campus of Penn State, opened in 1974. Eisenhower Chapel, on the same campus, is named for his wife, Helen Eakin Eisenhower.
• Eisenhower Hall, opened in 1951 on the Kansas State campus, is also named in his honor. It is home to the College of Arts and Sciences dean's office and the departments of History and Modern Languages. (Not to be confused with the Eisenhower Hall at West Point.)

Further reading

• Ambrose, Stephen E., and Richard H. Immerman, Milton S. Eisenhower, Educational Statesman. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983) 331 pp. isbn 978-0-8018-9267-7
• Virginia M. Quiring, Milton s Eisenhower Years at Kansas State University (Friends of the Libraries of Kansas State Univ., 1986) 120 pages ISBN-10: 0961665807

ISBN-13: 978-0961665807

References

1. ^ "University Archives: K.S.U. Presidents and First Ladies". http://www.lib.ksu.edu/depts/spec/flyers/presidents.html. Retrieved 2006-08-07. 
2. ^ Parker, Richard (Spring-Summer 2004). "A State Commission for UNESCO in Kansas, 1948". Prospects & Retrospects (Americans for Unesco): 24–25. http://www.americansforunesco.org/upload/documents/doc_44.pdf. Retrieved 2009-01-19. 
3. ^ http://nebraska.edu/recognition-and-awards/honorary-degrees/alphabetical.html, Accessed 8-19-09

External links

• Papers of Milton S. Eisenhower, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
• Dwight D. Eisenhower letter on Milton S. Eisenhower's resignation
• Memorandum, Milton. S. Eisenhower to Members of Congress, April 20, 1942; on War Relocation Authority
• Urban Legend regarding brother Dwight's induction as President of Columbia which was meant for Milton