Richard Nixon

Guide Note:

Richard Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, and remains the only president to formally resign from the office. He's also the only person to be twice elected to the offices of Vice President and President. A controversial and much-satirized figure for the remainder of his life after his fall from grace in the Watergate Scandal, Nixon had limited success at reviving his legacy and political reputation before he died on April 22, 1994, after suffering a stroke.

Fast Facts:

1. Born: January 9, 1913
2. Served as VP to President Eisenhower
3. Political Party: Republican
4. Administration: January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974
5. Vice Presidents: Spiro Agnew, Gerald Ford
6. Succeeded by: Gerald Ford
7. Secretary of State: William Rogers, Henry Kissinger
8. Spouse: Thelma Catherine Ryan
9. Occupation: Lawyer
10. Died: April 22, 1994

Nixon was born in 1913 in the Southern California town of Yorba Linda, where he was raised by a strict Quaker mother. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. On June 21, 1940, he married Thelma "Pat" Ryan. He entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1947 and, soon after, the U.S. Senate in 1950.

During his time in the House, Nixon was an active member of the House Un-American Activities Committee, investigating high-level Communists in the U.S. government. He was instrumental in the perjury conviction of Alger Hiss, a high-ranking State Department employee believed to be a Soviet spy, in 1950.

Nixon was elected as Vice President to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. During the campaign, he was accused of running a "slush fund." Nixon responded in a nationally televised speech, known as the "Checkers" speech because he mentioned the cocker spaniel, Checkers, he had been given as a gift. The speech is seen as salvaging Nixon's career.

Nixon lost a presidential election in 1960 to John F. Kennedy, but then ran again successfully after the Johnson Administration in 1968. His administration came to be defined for Americans by continuing involvement in the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal that eventually brought Nixon down, but there were some other important developments during this time as well. Nixon backed the military coup of Augusto Pinochet in Chile, created the Environmental Protection Agency, supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War and improved relations between the U.S. and China after the latter country effectively split from its Communist ally The Soviet Union.

Nixon, who has personally been described as secretive and paranoid, kept close tabs on a number of government officials and members of the press. The discovery of this illegal surveillance, particularly a break-in at the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate Building, led Congress to begin impeachment proceedings formally on May 9, 1974. Nixon eventually resigned from the Presidency on August 9, 1974 in the midst of the scandal. He was granted a full pardon by successor Gerald Ford, and never admitted to any illegal activities.