Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary to David and Julie Nixon Eisenhower
At First Sight
Eight-year-old Julie Nixon met eight-year-old David Eisenhower on the reviewing stand at his grandfather’s second inauguration as President — and her father’s as Ike’s Vice President — in January 1957.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Vice-President Richard M. Nixon, Barbara Anne Eisenhower, Dwight D. Eisenhower II, Julie Nixon, Tricia Nixon, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1957
Taking a Shine to a Shiner
“I had a dramatic black eye and skinned nose because of a sledding accident the week before,” Julie later recalled. “When photographers began snapping pictures, the President said, ‘Turn this way, Julie, so they won’t see your black eye.’ So I looked toward the President, David, and Anne. David, in turn, stared in open admiration at my black eye. “Ten years later, when David and I became engaged, the picture was resurrected to show that he was interested in me even then. In truth, it was the black eye.” Ike’s inscription read: “To: Julie Nixon, who, even then seems to have, unknowingly, acquired an admirer. ” (Ike’s inscription begins “The 1952 Inaugural Parade” — but he meant “1957.”)
(Courtesy of Julie Nixon Eisenhower)
The Matchmaker
Although they had no contact during the intervening years, in 1967 Julie Nixon was a freshman at Smith College and David was a freshman 7 miles away at Amherst.
David’s grandmother, former First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, prodded him to pay a visit.
First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, White House, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1953 (Richard Nixon Foundation)
An Interesting Courtship
The Engagement
The Wedding
Happily Ever After
