The Presidential Timeline

Early Life and Career

June 12, 1924 - January 20, 1989

Bush was born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts, to Prescott and Dorothy Walker Bush. On his 18th birthday, Bush graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He received his commission on June 9, 1943, becoming the youngest naval aviator of the time. During World War II (WWII), Bush flew torpedo bombers, completing 58 missions. On a run over Chichi Jima in 1944, his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire. Bush bailed out and was rescued by a Navy submarine, but tragically, his two crew members were killed. For his service during WWII, Bush was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals.

On January 6, 1945, Bush married Barbara Pierce of Rye, New York. They had six children: George Walker, Pauline Robinson (Robin), John Ellis (Jeb), Neil Mallon, Marvin Pierce, and Dorothy (Doro) Walker. Robin died of leukemia in 1953.

After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University in 1948 with a degree in economics, the Bushes moved to Texas, where George went into the oil exploration business. His career in politics and public service began in 1963, when he was elected chairman of the Harris County (Texas) Republican Party. Bush was elected in 1966 to the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas’ Seventh District and served two terms. Following congressional service, he held several senior-level positions, including U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in China and Director of Central Intelligence. In 1980, Ronald Reagan selected George Bush as his running mate. On January 20, 1981, Bush was sworn in for the first of two terms as Vice President. In that office, Bush piloted a task force on regulatory relief and coordinated administration efforts to combat international terrorism and wage the international war on drugs.

June 12, 1924

George Herbert Walker Bush is born in Milton, Massachusetts, to Prescott S. and Dorothy Walker Bush.

June 12, 1942

Bush graduates from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

June 12, 1942

Bush enlists in the U.S. Navy Reserve as a Seaman 2nd Class.

August 5, 1942

On active duty, Bush flies torpedo bombers off the USS San Jacinto, fighting in the Pacific Theater.

June 9, 1943

Bush is commissioned an Ensign and becomes the youngest pilot in the Navy at the time.

September 2, 1944

Bush is shot down in the Pacific Ocean and rescued by the submarine, USS Finback.

January 6, 1945

Bush marries Barbara Pierce at the First Presbyterian Church in Rye, New York.

September 18, 1945

Bush is relieved from active duty as a Lieutenant (jg), after flying 58 combat missions.

November 1, 1945

Bush attends Yale University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Economics. While a student, Bush was captain of the varsity baseball team.

July 6, 1946

Son George Walker Bush is born in New Haven, Connecticut.

June 1948

Bush works as an oil field supply salesman for Dresser Industries in West Texas; Huntington Park, Bakersfield, Whittier, Ventura, and Compton, California.

December 20, 1949

Daughter Pauline Robinson Bush (Robin) is born in Compton, California.

April 1950

Bush moves his family to Midland, Texas. He later co-founds the royalty firm Bush-Overbey Oil Development Company, Inc., with John Overbey.

February 11, 1953

Son John Ellis Bush (Jeb) is born in Midland, Texas.

March 23, 1953

Bush co-founds Zapata Petroleum Corporation with William and Hugh Liedtke.

October 11, 1953

Robin dies of leukemia at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City.

January 22, 1955

Son Neil Mallon Bush is born in Midland, Texas.

October 22, 1956

Son Marvin Pierce Bush is born in Midland, Texas.

August 1959

Bush moves his family to Houston, Texas, to run the spin-off company Zapata Offshore, a pioneering offshore drilling contractor.

August 18, 1959

Daughter Dorothy Walker Bush (Doro) is born in Houston, Texas.

February 20, 1963

Bush is elected Chairman of the Harris County Republican Committee.

July 13, 1964

Bush serves as a Texan delegate at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco, California.

November 3, 1964

Bush loses a bid for a seat in the U.S. Senate to Ralph Yarborough.

September 10, 1965

Zapata’s off-shore oil rig, Maverick, is swept away by Hurricane Betsy, but no lives are lost.

November 8, 1966

Bush is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and serves as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Bush is the first freshman legislator in 60 years to be chosen for this committee.

December 26, 1967

For two weeks, Bush visits the South Vietnamese front at his own expense, as well as Thailand and Laos.

August 5, 1968

Bush serves as a Texan delegate at the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida.

November 5, 1968

Running unopposed, Bush is re-elected to the House of Representatives.

April 1969

Bush is appointed by the Speaker of the House as a delegate to the U.S.-Mexican Interparliamentary Group to promote greater understanding between the two countries.

November 3, 1970

Bush loses second bid for U.S. Senate to Lloyd Bentsen.

February 26, 1971

Bush is named the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Prior to assuming his U.N. duties, he visits The Hague, Brussels, Vienna and Rome to observe international organizations and specialized agencies.

January 18, 1973

Bush serves as chairman of the Republican National Committee, where he actively seeks to increase participation of women and minorities.

September 4, 1974

President Ford announces the appointment of George Bush as Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

October 21, 1974

George and Barbara Bush arrive in Beijing, China, where he assumes his post as Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in the PRC.

January 30, 1976

Bush serves as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

1977

Bush serves as Chairman on the Executive Committee of the First International Bank in Houston, Texas.

1977

Bush attends the International Economic Conference in West Germany.

September 1977

Bush is invited by the Chinese Institute of Foreign Affairs to visit the People’s Republic of China and Tibet.

May 1, 1979

Bush announces his candidacy for President of the United States.

July 1979

Bush participates in the International Conference on Terrorism in Israel. He also visits Egypt at the time.

July 16, 1980

Bush is nominated as Vice Presidential candidate of the Republican Party at the Republican National Convention in Detroit, Michigan.

January 20, 1981

Bush is sworn in as Vice President of the United States.

January 22, 1981

Bush is appointed Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Regulatory Relief.

February 21, 1981

Bush is appointed Chairman of the Task Force to investigate the deaths of the children of Atlanta, Georgia.

March 24, 1981

Bush is appointed Chairman of Special Situation Group of the National Security Council, which was formerly known as the Crisis Management Team.

January 28, 1982

Bush is appointed Chairman of South Florida Task Force to coordinate solutions to the drug epidemic.

November 10, 1982

Bush visits Cape Verde, Senegal, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Zaire and Kenya to discuss Namibian independence and U.S. policy in Africa. He attends the funeral of Leonid Brezhnev and meets with General Secretary Yuri Andropov in the USSR.

January 30, 1983

Bush visits the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, France, Great Britain and West Germany to have discussions with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies on deployment of Pershing missiles.

June 10, 1983

Bush is appointed Chairman of the National Narcotics Border Interdiction System (NNBIS).

October 25, 1983

Bush visits Beirut, Lebanon, after the terrorist bombing of the Marine barracks kills 241.

November 14, 1983

Bush is appointed to chair the follow-up group to work with the Japanese on trade matters.

February 13, 1984

Bush attends the funeral of Yuri Andropov and meets with General Secretary Konstantin Chernenko in the USSR.

May 29, 1984

Bush addresses the opening session of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) foreign ministers meeting.

March 1985

Bush visits Switzerland to address the U.N. International Conference on the emergency situation in Africa. He attends the funeral of Konstantin Chernenko and meets with General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev in the U.S.S.R.

July 1, 1985

In Germany, Bush meets with the hostages from the hijacking incident aboard TWA Flight 847.

July 13, 1985

Under the provisions of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, Bush becomes President of the United States from 11:32 a.m. to 7:22 p.m. while President Reagan undergoes surgery.

July 20, 1985

Bush is appointed Chairman of the Task Force on Combating Terrorism.

September 1987

Bush publishes his autobiography, Looking Forward, with Victor Gold.

October 12, 1987

Bush announces his candidacy for the Republican Party's nomination for the Presidency of the United States.

August 18, 1988

Bush accepts the Republican Party’s nomination for President at the Republican National Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana.

November 8, 1988

Bush is elected the forty-first President of the United States of America.

Presidency

January 20, 1989 - January 20, 1993

In 1988, George Bush became his Party’s nominee and the American people’s choice to be the forty-first President of the United States. President Bush’s leadership proved critical to the resolution of some of the most daunting conflicts of our time. After 40 years of superpower stalemate, historic events became almost commonplace: the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany; the end of the Cold War and the flowering of democracy in Eastern Europe; and the emergence of a new partnership with Russia, anchored by the historic arms reduction treaties, START I and START II — the first-ever agreements to dismantle and destroy strategic weapons since the advent of the nuclear age.

On the international economic front, President Bush sought to seize new opportunities through a policy of free trade, pushing to lower trade restrictions and tariff barriers in the GATT talks. In the Western Hemisphere, President Bush’s free trade efforts culminated in the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative and the North American Free Trade Agreement.

With the passing of the Cold War came new challenges. Seeking to demonstrate the post-Cold War possibilities for collective security, President Bush marshaled a 30-nation coalition to oppose Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. Desert Storm stands as a testament to Presidential leadership — and American resolve in an uncertain and often dangerous world.

On the domestic scene, the Bush administration pushed new ideas for educational reform, home ownership and environmental protection. The Americans with Disabilities Act paved new ground for aiding the disadvantaged, and the revision of the Clean Air Act was deemed to be the most significant environmental legislation ever passed.

January 20, 1989

Bush is inaugurated as the forty-first President of the United States.

February 23, 1989

Bush attends the funeral of the Showa Emperor Hirohito in Tokyo, Japan, making him the first President to visit Asia before visiting Europe.

February 26, 1989

Bush becomes the first President to speak live on Chinese television.

March 1, 1989

Bush establishes the National Space Council, headed by Vice President Dan Quayle.

April 30, 1989

Bush attends the Bicentennial celebration of George Washington’s Inauguration in New York City.

May 21, 1989

Bush delivers the commencement address at Boston University in the presence of French President Francois Mitterand and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohammed, noting that “an ideological earthquake is shaking asunder” the foundations of Communism.

May 28, 1989

Bush attends the Summit celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, Belgium.

August 10, 1989

Bush nominates General Colin L. Powell to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

November 9, 1989

The East German government announces that, after 28 years, border crossings would again be permissible.

December 2, 1989

Bush meets with Mikhail Gorbachev in Malta to promote U.S.-Soviet relations.

December 20, 1989

Bush announces U.S. military action in Panama leading to the capture of renegade dictator Manuel Noriega.

June 11, 1990

Bush announces that U.S. and Mexico will begin negotiations on a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

June 25, 1990

Bush meets African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela.

June 27, 1990

Bush announces the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative and the eventual goal of a free trade area covering the entire Western Hemisphere.

July 5, 1990

Bush attends London North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit and unveils a new vision for NATO as a more political alliance. This allows the Soviet Union to accept unified German membership in NATO, which is the last major obstacle to German reunification and trade issues.

July 23, 1990

Bush nominates David H. Souter to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

July 26, 1990

Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, prohibiting discrimination based on disabilities.

August 2, 1990

Iraqi forces invade Kuwait.

August 8, 1990

Bush deploys U.S. forces for the defense of Saudi Arabia.

October 3, 1990

German reunification occurs when East Germany is incorporated into West Germany.

November 15, 1990

Bush signs the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, deemed to be the most significant environmental legislation ever passed. The Amendments seek ways to reduce smog and atmospheric pollution, which includes prohibiting the use of leaded gasoline in motor vehicles by the end of 1995.

November 19, 1990

Along with other leaders of the two alliances, Bush signs the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, dramatically reducing North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Warsaw Pact forces in Europe.

November 22, 1990

Bush spends Thanksgiving Day with the troops in Saudi Arabia.

January 16, 1991

Acting under the authority of the U.N. Security Council, Bush orders the beginning of Operation Desert Storm.

February 23, 1991

Bush directs General Norman Schwarzkopf to use ground forces against Iraqi forces in Kuwait.

February 27, 1991

Bush addresses the Nation on the suspension of combat in the Persian Gulf.

April 8, 1991

Bush proposes the establishment of a Cabinet-level Department of the Environment.

July 8, 1991

Bush nominates Clarence Thomas as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

July 31, 1991

In Moscow, President Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev sign the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), reducing, for the first time, the strategic nuclear forces of the two superpowers.

August 9, 1991

Bush announces a comprehensive plan for protection of America’s wetlands.

September 11, 1991

Bush recognizes the governments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which had regained their independence from the Soviet Union towards the end of the Cold War.

September 28, 1991

Bush addresses the Nation on the Daily Points of Light program, honoring and promoting volunteerism.

October 30, 1991

Bush opens the Middle East Peace Conference in Madrid, Spain.

November 21, 1991

Bush signs the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which provides the right to trial by jury on discrimination claims and allows for the possibility of emotional distress damages.

December 7, 1991

Bush delivers remarks at the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of Pearl Harbor.

December 26, 1991

The Soviet Union dissolves following the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev the previous day.

August 20, 1992

Bush accepts the Republican Party’s nomination for President at the Republican National Convention in Houston, Texas.

November 3, 1992

Bush loses his bid for a second presidential term.

December 4, 1992

Bush addresses the Nation to announce that the U.S. will lead a coalition through Operation Restore Hope to relieve starvation in war-torn Somalia.

December 17, 1992

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is signed.

January 3, 1993

Bush signs the START II treaty, banning the most destabilizing nuclear weapons in the superpower arsenals while reducing total nuclear weapons to less than half of START I levels.

Post-Presidency

January 20, 1993 - Present

Since leaving office, Bush has helped to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for charity. He is a Life Member of the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors and served as chairman of the board from 2002 to 2003; is honorary chairman of the Points of Light Foundation; and, with Mrs. Bush, serves as Honorary Co-Chair of C-Change, a coalition of cancer organizations. He also takes an active role in The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, and the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, both located on the campus of Texas A&M University Recently, President Bush, at the request of President George W. Bush, has been working with President Bill Clinton to help raise funds to aid in the relief efforts following the catastrophic tsunami in Southeast Asia and Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast states. He also currently serves as U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Envoy for the South Asia earthquake.

January 20, 1993

Bush returns to Houston as a private citizen.

March 25, 1997

Bush fulfills a lifelong dream by making a second parachute jump, code named “Operation Second Look.” The jump takes place over the Yuma Proving Ground, a military installation in southwest Arizona.

November 6, 1997

Bush attends the dedication of the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas.

September 1998

Bush publishes A World Transformed with Brent Scowcroft.

June 9, 1999

Bush celebrates his seventy-fifth birthday by skydiving at his Presidential Library in College Station, Texas.

October 1999

Bush publishes All the Best, George Bush.

June 13, 2004

Bush celebrates his eightieth birthday by tandem-skydiving at his Presidential Library in College Station, Texas.

January 3, 2005

Bush is asked by President George W. Bush to join former President Bill Clinton to head a nationwide charitable fundraising effort to aid the devastated regions affected by the tsunamis in the Indian Ocean.

September 1, 2005

Bush is asked by President George W. Bush to join former President Bill Clinton to lead a nationwide fundraising effort to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.