Donald Rumsfeld (born 1932) became the United States 21st Secretary of Defense on January 20, 2001. Before assuming that position, he was a Navy pilot, President Gerald Ford's Secretary of Defense, President Ford's White House Chief of Staff, U.S. Ambassador to NATO under President Richard Nixon, a U.S. Congressman from Illinois, and chief executive officer at two Fortune 500 companies.

Beginnings

Donald Harold Rumsfeld was born in Chicago on July 9, 1932, the son of George Donald Rumsfeld, a real estate salesman, and Jeannette Huster Rumsfeld. He was raised in Winnetka, Illinois, a wealthy suburb on Chicago's North Shore. At New Trier High School, Rumsfeld was a champion wrestler in the 145-pound class. He would marry his high school sweetheart in 1954.

Following his graduation from high school, Rumsfeld attended Princeton University on an academic and NROTC scholarship and became captain of the football and wrestling teams. There is a legend about Rumsfeld...