Kissinger, Henry Alfred(orig. Heinz Alfred Kissinger)

1923 - born - May 27th - Furth, Germany

1938 - Kissinger's family emigrated to U.S. from Germany, to escape Nazis persecution in 1938

(naturalized US citizen 1943)

1943-46 - US Army Counter-Intelligence Corps, Military Intelligence (1946-49)

1949-1964 - Married to Ann Fleisher, they have son and daughter. 

1950 - BA, Harvard University (summa cum laude)

1952 - MA, Harvard University

1954 - PhD International Relations, Harvard University

1955-1971 - director of Defense Studies Program at Harvard University (on leave 1969-1971)

1965 - As the Vietnam War intensified, Kissinger was drawn deeply into efforts to end it. He undertook an important diplomatic mission for President Lyndon B. Johnson (1967), but his attempt to arrange a cease fire faltered when the U.S. government refused to promise an unconditional halt to bombing of all North Vietnam.

1969 - President Richard M. Nixon named him national security adviser in 1969; in September 1973, Kissinger was also confirmed as secretary of state, a position he held concurrently until November 1975, when President Gerald R. Ford appointed Brent Scowcroft national security adviser; Kissinger remained secretary of state until the end of Ford's administration in 1977.

1972 -  Time Man of the Year

1973 - Nobel Prize in Peace for negotiating end to Vietnam War

1974 - Married Nancy Maginnes

1985-1989 - Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board

1986-96 - Member of the Board of American Express

1999 - Member of the Board of Gulfstream Aerospace

2002 - 1st chairman of 9/11 Commission

2002 - Writes and releases Vietnam: A Personal History of America's Involvement in and Extrication from the Vietnam War (memoir)

• "We should get into the habit of reading inspirational books, looking at inspirational pictures, hearing inspirational music, associating with inspirational friends."
• "Animals are reliable, many full of love, true in their affections, predictable in their actions, grateful and loyal. Difficult standards for people to live up to."
• "Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress."
• "What you have in your mind, your talents, your native abilities, no one can take from you. When you die you take them with you. Use them diligently while you are here."
• "The only calendar I need is just outside my window. With eyes to see and ears to hear, nature keeps me posted."