Early life of George W. Bush

See also: Professional life of George W. Bush

George W. Bush, the oldest child in a family of six children, grew up in the Texan cities of Midland and Houston and studied at Yale University and the Harvard Business School before serving in the Texas Air National Guard. Bush would later own the Texas Rangers baseball franchise, become governor of Texas and eventually become the 43rd President of the United States.

Upbringing and education

George W. Bush with parents and siblings in the early 1960s. In the front row, from left to right, stand his younger brothers Neil Bush, Marvin Bush, and Jeb Bush. In the back row are his younger sister Doro Bush, himself, his mother Barbara Bush, and father George H. W. Bush)

George Walker Bush, the son of George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Bush, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on July 6, 1946. His paternal ancestors emigrated from Somerset in the West Country of England in the seventeenth century to North America. Bush was raised in Midland and Houston, Texas, with siblings Jeb, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. (A younger sister, Robin, died of leukemia in 1953 at the age of three.) The family enjoyed the summers and most holidays at the Bush Compound in Maine.

The Midland boyhood home of Bush.

Bush attended Sam Houston Elementary School and San Jacinto Junior High School in Midland, Texas. He later moved to The Kinkaid School in Piney Point Village, Texas for two years. Afterward, like his father, Bush attended Phillips Academy (September 1961–June 1964) and later Yale University (September 1964–May 1968). At Yale, he joined Delta Kappa Epsilon, of which he was president from October 1965 until graduation, and the Skull and Bones secret society; Bush's father George H. W. Bush (1948) and grandfather Prescott S. Bush (1917) were also members of Skull and Bones. Bush was also in the Yale First XV rugby union team in 1968. He was a C student, scoring 77% (with no As and one D, in astronomy) with a grade point average of 2.35 out of a possible 4.00. Bush has joked that he was known more for his social life than for his grades. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1968. The entire entry from his yearbook read:

GEORGE WALKER BUSH. Born July 6 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, son of George H.W. Bush (Class of '48) and Barbara Pierce Bush. Prepared at Phillips Academy-Andover, Andover, Massachusetts. Entered Yale, September, 1964. History Major. Resident Member: Davenport (Social Council, 1964-68; Football, 1964-68, Captain, 1967-68; Baseball, 1965-68); Delta Kappa Epsilon, President, 1966-67; Skull and Bones; Inter- Council, 1966-67; Freshman Baseball, 1965; Rugby Club, 1966-68. Roommates: R.J. Dieter, C. Johnson, III, C. Johnson, Jr. Address: Apt. 8, 5000 Longmont Drive, Houston, Texas 77027.

In 1970 Bush applied to the University of Texas School of Law and was rejected. After serving in the Texas Air National Guard, Bush entered Harvard Business School in 1973. He received a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree in 1975, and is the first U.S. president to hold an MBA.

Service in the Air National Guard

See also: George W. Bush military service controversy

After graduating from Yale University, Bush joined the Texas Air National Guard on May 27, 1968, during the Vietnam War, with a commitment to serve until May 26, 1974. He was promoted to first lieutenant on the November 1970 recommendation of Texas Air National Guard commander Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian. He served as an F-102 11 pilot until 1972.

Arrest controversy

See also: George W. Bush substance abuse controversy

On September 4, 1976, Bush was arrested by police for driving under the influence of alcohol near his family's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Family life

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Bush and his family.

Bush married Laura Welch in 1977. They have fraternal twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna Bush, born in 1981.

Notes

• Gould, Lewis L. (editor), American First Ladies: Their Lives and Their Legacy, Garland Publishing, New York and London, 1996. See pages 612-613 regarding the Bush family's "nomadic" existence in the cities of Huntington Park, Bakersfield, Whittier, Ventura and Compton, California.