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U.S. #1394
1970 8¢ Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Issue Date:Â May 10, 1971
City:Â Washington, DC
Printed By:Â Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method:Â Giori Press
Perforations:Â 11
Color:Â Black, red and blue gray
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As General of the Army, Dwight D. Eisenhower led the Allied forces to a victory in Europe during World War II. A popular figure with the American people, he was elected as our 34th President. This stamp was also issued with a 6¢ denomination.
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Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969)
34th United States President
Dwight David Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890, in Denison, Texas. When Dwight was just a baby, his family moved to Abilene, Kansas. In 1911, two years after graduating from Abilene High School, Dwight was admitted to West Point. He graduated in 1915 and was assigned to Fort Sam Houston, in Texas.
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During âwar gamesâ in 1941, Lieutenant Colonel Eisenhower commanded his forces to victory over General George Pattonâs âenemy force.â This earned him the rank of brigadier general. In 1942, Eisenhower was promoted to major general, and within months became commanding general of U.S. forces in the European Theater of Operations. Over the previous two years, Eisenhower had advanced past 350 senior officers. By February 1943, Eisenhower was a four-star general.
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When the decision was made to launch the largest seaborne invasion in military history, General Eisenhower was chosen as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe. On June 6, 1944, a multi-national force, commanded by Eisenhower, crossed the English Channel onto the beach in Normandy, France. By that evening, Allied forces controlled the beach.Â
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Following the invasion, in December 1944, Eisenhower was promoted to five-star general, or General of the Army. In November of the following year, he became Army Chief of Staff.
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Eisenhower successfully ran for the Presidency in 1952, under a ticket of âModern Republicanism.â Eisenhower emphasized lower government spending and increased efficiency. Among the domestic proposals of his first term were the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway and an interstate highway system, broadening of the Social Security System, and raising the minimum wage to $1 per hour.
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President Eisenhower traveled to Korea to negotiate an end to the war. He ordered the CIA to take action against Communist governments around the world. Eisenhower proposed a program called Atoms For Peace, in which nations would donate atomic power to the United Nations. This program developed into the International Atomic Energy Agency.
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President Eisenhowerâs second term was even more eventful. In September, 1957, Arkansas Governor Orval E. Faubus defied a court order to integrate schools in Little Rock. President Eisenhower sent in the National Guard and the 101st Airborne Division to enforce the order. Also in 1957, the Soviet Union became the first nation in space when it launched Sputnik I, the worldâs first artificial satellite.
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In 1951, the 22nd Amendment came into effect, limiting Presidents to two terms. Unable to run for re-election in 1960, the President supported Vice President Richard Nixon. Following Nixonâs defeat, Eisenhower retired to his farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Eisenhower died of heart failure on March 28, 1969.
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Founding Of Columbia University
On January 4, 1754, Kingâs College (later Columbia University) was founded in New York.
Lewis Morris was one of the first to suggest establishing a college in the Province of New York in 1704. Â He suggested using a plot of land given to Trinity Church by Lord Cornburry, Â known as âKingâs Farm.â Â No steps would be taken for nearly 50 years.
Then in 1745, New Jersey, which had established its own government separate from New York a few years earlier, announced it was going to open its own school, the College of New Jersey (Princeton University). Â New Yorkers then felt the need to have their own college.
The following year, the New York general assembly passed an act to raise £2,250 through a public lottery to establish a new college.  However, they hadnât established a founding denomination (which was common practice at the time) or selected a location.  Then, in 1751, the New York assembly established a commission of 10 people, seven of whom were part of the Church of England, to manage the funds to build the college.
The following year, Trinity Church offered six acres for the collegeâs first campus. Â However, William Livingston and other members of the commission didnât want the school to have a religious affiliation, which delayed progress. Â Eventually, the commission voted to accept the lands, but only as long as the schoolâs affiliation was to the Church of England. Â The school was officially established as Kingâs College on January 4, 1754.
The first classes at Kingâs College were held that July in a newly built schoolhouse near Trinity Church. Â Dr. Samuel Johnson was the schoolâs only instructor at first, with a class of just eight students. Â The school then received its royal charter from King George III later that year, on October 31, 1754. Â The school found a new location at Park Place in 1760, and in 1767, created the first medical school to give an M.D. degree in America.
During the American Revolution, Kingâs College closed and was used as a military hospital and barracks. Â After the war, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton aided in the schoolâs reopening as Columbia College in 1784. Â The school expanded in the 1790s when New York City served as the federal and state capital.
Over the years, Columbia added many schools, including a medical school, law school, and a school of architecture. Â In 1896, Columbia became a university, then moved to its present-day site in upper Manhattan in 1897. Â Today, itâs considered a leading university in the liberal arts and professional studies.
Many notable Americans (several of whom have appeared on stamps) have graduated from Columbia, and you can see a list here.  You can also click here for more about the schoolâs history.