Encyclopedia · Private Biography Draft
George H. W. Bush
41st president of the United States (1924–2018)
Personal details
- Full name
- George Herbert Walker Bush
- Born
- June 12, 1924 · Milton, Massachusetts
- Died
- November 30, 2018 · Houston, Texas
- Parents
- Prescott Sheldon Bush; Dorothy Walker Bush
- Education
- Phillips Academy; Yale University, B.A. in economics (1948)
- Spouse
- Barbara Pierce Bush (married 1945; died 2018)
- Children
- George W., Pauline “Robin”, Jeb, Neil, Marvin and Dorothy
- Religion
- Episcopalian
- Military
- U.S. Navy aviator, 1942–1945; Pacific combat service
- Political affiliation
- Republican
- Public office
- Vice president (1981–1989); president (1989–1993)
George Herbert Walker Bush (1924–2018) was an American politician, businessman and naval aviator who served as the 41st U.S. president from 1989 to 1993. He was vice president under Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989.
Family, schooling and military service
Bush was born to Prescott Sheldon Bush, an investment banker and future senator from Connecticut, and Dorothy Walker Bush. He grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, attended Greenwich Country Day School, and graduated from Phillips Academy in 1942.
He entered the Navy at age eighteen and piloted torpedo bombers during World War II, including combat missions in the Pacific. In 1944 he was shot down and rescued at sea. He married Barbara Pierce in January 1945. They had six children, including future president George W. Bush and future Florida governor Jeb Bush; their daughter Robin died in childhood.
Business and early political career
After military service, Bush earned a degree in economics from Yale in 1948. He moved to Texas and worked in the petroleum business, including Zapata Petroleum and Zapata Off-Shore.
He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas (1967–1971), then as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, chairman of the Republican National Committee, chief U.S. representative in China, and director of Central Intelligence.
Vice presidency and presidency
Bush won the 1988 presidential election after serving two terms as Reagan’s vice president. His administration oversaw the end of the Cold War, the U.S. intervention in Panama, and the coalition military campaign to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. He signed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 and lost reelection in 1992 to Bill Clinton.
References
Research compiled through November 12, 2026. Sources and historical roles are dated where known.