Eisenhower by Thomas E. Stevens, 1947. Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 - March 28, 1969) was the 34th President of the US (1953-61). He was a five-star general in the US Army during WWII, and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942-43 and the successful invasion of France and Germany in 1944-45. He entered the 1952 presidential race as a Republican to crusade against Communism, Korea and corruption. He won by a landslide, defeating Adlai Stevenson and ending two decades of the New Deal Coalition. He left most political activity to his Vice President, Richard Nixon. He was a moderate conservative who continued New Deal agencies, expanded Social Security and launched the Interstate Highway System. He enforced federal court orders to desegregate public schools, and signed civil rights legislation in 1957 and 1960 to protect the right to vote. He implemented desegregation of the armed forces, and made five appointments to the Supreme Court. His two terms were peaceful ones for the most part and saw considerable economic prosperity. He is currently ranked as one of the top ten American Presidents. He died of congestive heart failure in 1969.