George C. Marshall, a soldier and statesman, was born on this site on Dec. 31, 1880. He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1939 to 1945, became General of the Army in December 1944, served as Secretary of State from 1947 to 1949 and Secretary of Defense from 1950 to 1951, authored the Marshall Plan for European recovery, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and died on Oct. 16, 1959.