Bill Gates efforts in 2016, and François Hollande awarded Bill and Melinda in the following year with France's highest national award – the Legion of Honour for their charity efforts. Entomologists named Bill Gates' flower fly, ", in his honor in 1997. Gates married Melinda French on a golf course on the Hawaiian island of Lanai on January 1, 1994; he was 38 and she was 29. They have three children: Jennifer Katharine (b. 1996), Rory John (b. 1999), and Phoebe Adele (b. 2002). Gates' oldest daughter Jennifer is an equestrian rider who competed in the 2018 Longines Global Champions Tour. The
Thomas S. Gates Jr. Thomas S. Gates Jr. Thomas Sovereign Gates Jr. (April 10, 1906March 25, 1983) was United States Secretary of Defense from 1959 to 1961 under President Eisenhower. He was promoted from deputy secretary of defense. During his tenure, he established a task force to set nuclear target priorities. He also authorized U-2 reconnaissance flights, including the flight of Francis Gary Powers. Born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, Gates was the son of Thomas S. Gates Sr., an investment banker and lawyer who was president of the University of Pennsylvania from 1930 to 1944, and his wife, Marie ("née" Rogers) Gates. Gates graduated from