Bush’s life and times
Significant dates in the life of former President George H.W. Bush: June 12, 1924: George Herbert Walker Bush is born in Milton. June 12, 1942: Enlists in Navy on 18th birthday. Sept. 2, 1944: Plane is shot down in Pacific Ocean and two crewmates killed. Bush is rescued by a submarine and receives the Distinguished Flying Cross. Jan. 6, 1945: Marries Barbara Pierce, daughter of the publisher of McCall’s magazine. The Bushes eventually have six children. 1948: The family moves to Texas, where Bush prospers in oil business. November 1966: Wins seat in House of Representatives. 1971: Appointed U.N. ambassador by President Richard Nixon. 1975: Named chief of CIA. 1980: Chosen by Ronald Reagan as his running mate; Reagan-Bush ticket defeats President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale. Nov. 8, 1988: Defeats Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, becoming first sitting vice president to win presidency since 1836. July 26, 1990: Signs landmark Americans With Disabilities Act. Aug. 7, 1990: Orders deployment of U.S. troops to Persian Gulf. Jan. 17, 1991: Air war against Iraq begins. Feb. 25, 1991: Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein orders forces to withdraw from Kuwait. Feb. 27, 1991: White House suspends offensive combat operations. Four days later, Iraqi military accepts U.N. Security Council’s strict terms for formal cease-fire. Nov. 3, 1992: Loses bid for re-election to Bill Clinton. Jan. 20, 2001: Sees son George W. sworn in as president, becoming the only former president in history to see his son sworn in to the same office. (John Adams, then nearly 90, did not attend inauguration when son John Quincy Adams became president in 1825.) February 2005: Travels with former President Clinton to areas devastated by December 2004 Asian tsunami. They team up again to raise funds for Hurricane Katrina relief. Feb. 15, 2011: Receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor for contributions to society. April 17, 2018: Barbara Bush dies at their home in Houston. She was 92. Nov. 30, 2018: George H.W. Bush dies at his Houston home. He was 94.