University Press - Donald Trump: The Biography

Donald Trump is a U.S. citizen, and his parents were U.S. citizens before he was born. His ancestors and all four of his grandparents, on the other hand, lived in Scotland or Germany. His paternal grandfather, Frederich Trump, came from Bavaria in 1885. After becoming a citizen, Frederick, a new name he had chosen for his new life, got rich in the Alaskan Gold Rush by providing gold seekers with dining and accommodations on their journeys.

Frederick's fortune went to his wife upon his death, and then to his son Fred, who used it to establish Elizabeth Trump and Sons, a business enterprise that is now known as the Trump Organization. Fred Trump made it big in New York real estate before fathering Donald Trump. Trump's mother, Mary Macleod, born in Scotland, emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 17 and became a maid in New York City. Fred married Mary in 1936, and Mary became a citizen in 1942. Fred was in the real estate business, building and managing apartments for middle-income renters.

On June 14, 1946, Fred and Mary Trump had a son, whom they named Donald John Trump. The family lived in an upscale neighborhood in Queens, and there were five children. Donald was the fourth. Due to Fred's inherited wealth and successful business, the family was very well off and lived lives of privilege and comfort.

Donald went to Kew-Forest School as a child. The school is a private college-prep school for children in preschool through high school. His father was a board member of the school. Donald was bright but unfortunately had behavior problems. So, before his eighth-grade year, his family sent him to New York Military Academy in hopes of straightening him out and teaching him discipline.

At the military academy, Donald was trained in military drills and leadership while taking the usual high school courses. When he arrived at the school, according to his former instructor Col. Ted Dobias, he was clueless about how to take care of himself the way cadets were required to do. He had to learn how to make a bed, shine his shoes, and most importantly, how to follow the rules laid down by the school.

Trump received no favoritism based on his parents' wealth and position, but he did well at the school and eventually proved himself sufficiently disciplined to attain the rank of Captain. Socially, he was a success at the school, bringing home girls from the upper levels of society frequently.

However, he never got close to his male classmates, who may have felt intimidated by him. He was very competitive, as he still is, and sometimes his air of superiority caused his classmates to dislike him. The school permitted hazing at that time. At one point in his senior year, Donald Trump allegedly hazed a freshman so mercilessly that Trump was transferred to a different student command.

Donald was always energetic as a teenager, working on his father's construction sites during the summers and playing sport during the school year. In 1964, with his secondary education behind him, Trump was ready to begin his higher education.