Historical Rosters Database
Charles Evans Kilbourne
Roster ID 4077This is a summary. Contact the Archives for additional biographical information.
| First Name: | Charles |
| Middle Name: | Evans |
| Last Name: | Kilbourne |
| Suffix: | |
| Affiliation: | Class of 1894; Superintendent |
| Biography & Genealogy: | Lieutenant General Charles Evans Kilbourne (b. 1872 d. 1963). Medal of Honor recipient. An 1894 VMI graduate, Kilbourne had a distinguished career in the U. S. Army before returning to his alma mater as the sixth Superintendent. He entered the volunteer Signal Corps as a 2nd Lieutenant at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898, and received the Medal of Honor for gallantry in action in the Philippines in 1899. He received his regular Army commission in 1899 and served in China during the Boxer Rebellion. During World War I he was Chief of Staff of the 89th Division and was wounded in action in France. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1928 and was assigned to the War Department's War Plans Division. He received his promotion to Major General in 1935 and retired the next year. He was the first person in American history to hold simultaneously the nation's three highest military awards: The Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Distinguished Service Medal. He became Superintendent of VMI on October 1, 1937 and retired on June 20, 1946, having guided the Institute through the challenging years of World War II. He died on November 12, 1963. Photos-- Many images can be viewed in our online photos database (see menu on Archives homepage). |
