Bush was born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Mass., and grew up in Greenwich, Conn. A World War II carrier pilot in the Pacific, he was discharged in 1945 with a Distinguished Flying Cross. During the war he married Barbara Pierce (1925– ). They raised five children, including George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the U.S., and Jeb (John Ellis) Bush (1953– ), a two-term governor of Florida (1999–2007); a sixth child died of leukemia before her fourth birthday.
Rise to Power. After graduating from Yale University in 1948 with a degree in economics, Bush moved to Texas, where he became wealthy in the oil business. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1964 but won a seat in the House of Representatives two years later. Reelected in 1968, he gave up his seat in 1970 to run for the Senate, but was again unsuccessful. President Richard M. Nixon then appointed him ambassador to the United Nations (1971–72), and he subsequently held a series of other important appointive posts, both domestic and foreign: national chairman of the Republican party (1973–74); chief liaison officer in Beijing (1974–75), before the U.S. established full diplomatic relations with China; and director of the Central Intelligence Agency (1976–77).
Bush competed for the Republican presidential nomination in 1980 but lost to Ronald Reagan. Nominated as Reagan's running mate in July, he was elected vice-president in November, taking office the following January. He won reelection along with Reagan in 1984. Bush was born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Mass., and grew up in Greenwich, Conn. A World War II carrier pilot in the Pacific, he was discharged in 1945 with a Distinguished Flying Cross. During the war he married Barbara Pierce (1925– ). They raised five children, including George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the U.S., and Jeb (John Ellis) Bush (1953– ), a two-term governor of Florida (1999–2007); a sixth child died of leukemia before her fourth birthday.
Rise to Power. After graduating from Yale University in 1948 with a degree in economics, Bush moved to Texas, where he became wealthy in the oil business. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1964 but won a seat in the House of Representatives two years later. Reelected in 1968, he gave up his seat in 1970 to run for the Senate, but was again unsuccessful. President Richard M. Nixon then appointed him ambassador to the United Nations (1971–72), and he subsequently held a series of other important appointive posts, both domestic and foreign: national chairman of the Republican party (1973–74); chief liaison officer in Beijing (1974–75), before the U.S. established full diplomatic relations with China; and director of the Central Intelligence Agency (1976–77).
Bush competed for the Republican presidential nomination in 1980 but lost to Ronald Reagan. Nominated as Reagan's running mate in July, he was elected vice-president in November, taking office the following January. He won reelection along with Reagan in 1984.