Cold War Biographies | George C. Marshall Biography

Born December 31, 1880
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Died October 16, 1959
Washington, D.C.

U.S. secretary of state, army general, and
U.S. Army chief of staff

George Marshall was a highly respected U.S. military leader and U.S. official. He served as an army general, secretary of state, and secretary of defense. He was the first military person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the European economic recovery following World War II (1939–45). Most importantly, the Cold War (1945–91) took shape during his time as secretary of state. The policies he developed would influence the next forty years of rivalry with the Soviet Union.

The young officer

George Catlett Marshall Jr. was born on New Year's Eve in 1880 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, son of Laura Bradford and George C. Marshall Sr., a coal merchant. Marshall was a direct descendent...