richard nixon richard nixon richard milhous nixon (january 9, 1913 – april 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the united states, serving from 1969 to 1974. a member of the republican party, he previously served as a representative and senator from california and was the 36th vice president from 1953 to 1961 under president dwight d. eisenhower. his five years in the white house saw reduction of u.s. involvement in the vietnam war, détente with the soviet union and china, the first crewed moon landings, and the establishment of the environmental protection agency and occupational safety and health administration. nixon's second term ended early, when he became the only president to resign from office, as a result of the watergate scandal. richard nixonoval office portrait37th president of the united statesin officejanuary 20, 1969 – august 9, 1974vice president spiro agnew(1969–oct 1973) none(oct–dec 1973) gerald ford(dec 1973–1974) preceded bylyndon b. johnsonsucceeded bygerald ford36th vice president of the united statesin officejanuary 20, 1953 – january 20, 1961presidentdwight d. eisenhowerpreceded byalben w. barkleysucceeded bylyndon b. johnsonunited states senatorfrom californiain officedecember 1, 1950 – january 1, 1953preceded bysheridan downeysucceeded bythomas kuchelmember of the u.s. house of representativesfrom california's 12th districtin officejanuary 3, 1947 – november 30, 1950preceded byjerry voorhissucceeded bypatrick j. hillings personal detailsbornrichard milhous nixon(1913-01-09)january 9, 1913yorba linda, california, u.s.diedapril 22, 1994(1994-04-22) (aged 81)new york city, u.s.resting placerichard nixon presidential library and museumpolitical partyrepublicanspouse pat ryan ​ ​(m. 1940; died 1993)​children tricia julie parentsfrancis a. nixon (father)hannah milhous (mother)education whittier college (ba) duke university (llb) occupationpoliticianlawyerauthorsignaturemilitary servicebranch/serviceunited states navyyears of service 1942–1946 (active) 1946–1966 (inactive) rankcommanderbattles/wars world war ii south pacific theater awards navy and marine corps commendation medal american campaign medal asiatic–pacific campaign medal world war ii victory medal armed forces reserve medal this article is part of a series aboutrichard nixon birthplace electoral history depictions pre-vice presidency house of representatives 1946 election senate 1950 election 36th vice president of the united states eisenhower administration 1st inauguration 2nd inauguration motorcade attack kitchen debate post-vice presidency 1962 california gubernatorial bid "last press conference" 37th president of the united states presidency timeline transition inaugurations first second judicial appointments appointed federal judges supreme court candidates appointment controversies policies economic nixon shock foreign nixon doctrine vietnamization environmental epa clean water noaa legacy of parks cannabis war on drugs native american first term end of the draft visit to china anti-ballistic missile treaty war on cancer philadelphia plan minority business enterprise osha apollo program second term paris peace accords decent interval 1973 chilean coup d'état yom kippur war airlift mideast peace process marine mammal protection act endangered species act impeachment process watergate scandal timeline tapes united states v. nixon resignation speech pardon post-presidency nixon interviews foundation presidential library and museum center for the national interest bibliography six crises death and state funeral presidential campaigns 1960 election primaries convention debates 1968 election primaries convention "bring us together" 1972 election primaries convention vice presidential campaigns 1952 selection convention election 1956 convention election nixon was born into a poor family of quakers in a small town in southern california. he graduated from duke law school in 1937, practiced law in california, and then moved with his wife pat to washington in 1942 to work for the federal government. after active duty in the naval reserve during world war ii, he was elected to the house of representatives in 1946. his work on the alger hiss case established his reputation as a leading anti-communist, which elevated him to national prominence, and in 1950, he was elected to the senate. nixon was the running mate of dwight d. eisenhower, the republican party's presidential nominee in the 1952 election, and served for eight years as the vice president. he ran for president in 1960, narrowly lost to john f. kennedy, then failed again in a 1962 race for governor of california, after which it was widely believed that his political career was over. however, in 1968, he made another run for the presidency and was elected, defeating hubert humphrey by less than one percentage point in the popular vote, as well as defeating third party candidate george wallace. nixon ended american involvement in vietnam combat in 1973 and the military draft in the same year. his visit to china in 1972 eventually led to diplomatic relations between the two nations, and he also then concluded the anti-ballistic missile treaty with the soviet union. in step with his conservative beliefs, his administration incrementally transferred power from the federal government to the states. nixon's domestic policy saw him impose wage and price controls for 90 days, enforce desegregation of southern schools, establish the environmental protection agency, and begin the war on cancer. additionally, his administration pushed for the controlled substances act and began the war on drugs. he also presided over the apollo 11 moon landing, which signaled the end of the space race. he was re-elected with a historic electoral landslide in 1972 when he defeated george mcgovern. in his second term, nixon ordered an airlift to resupply israeli losses in the yom kippur war, a conflict which led to the oil crisis at home. from 1973, ongoing revelations leading from the nixon administration's involvement in watergate eroded his support in congress and the country. nixon and senior members of his administration were found to have weaponized government agencies against his enemies, among other wrongdoing. on august 9, 1974, facing almost certain impeachment and removal from office, nixon resigned from the presidency. afterwards, he was issued a pardon by his successor, gerald ford. during nearly 20 years of retirement, nixon wrote his memoirs and nine other books. he undertook many foreign trips, rehabilitating his image into that of an elder statesman and leading expert on foreign affairs. he suffered a debilitating stroke on april 18, 1994, and died four days later at the age of 81. surveys of historians and political scientists have ranked nixon as a below-average president. however, evaluations of him have proven complex, with the successes of his presidency contrasted against the circumstances of his departure from office. early life and education nixon (second from right) makes his newspaper debut in 1916, contributing five cents to a fund for war orphans. his brother donald is to his right. richard milhous nixon was born on january 9, 1913, in what was then the township precinct of yorba linda, california, in a house built by his father, located on his family's lemon ranch. his parents were hannah (milhous) nixon and francis a. nixon. his mother was a quaker, and his father converted from methodism to the quaker faith. through his mother, nixon was a descendant of the early english settler thomas cornell, who was also an ancestor of ezra cornell, the founder of cornell university, as well as of jimmy carter and bill gates. nixon's upbringing was influenced by quaker observances of the time such as abstinence from alcohol, dancing, and swearing. nixon had four brothers: harold (1909–1933), donald (1914–1987), arthur (1918–1925), and edward (1930–2019). four of the five nixon boys were named after kings who had ruled in medieval or legendary britain; richard, for example, was named after richard the lionheart. nixon's early life was marked by hardship, and he later quoted a saying of eisenhower to describe his boyhood: "we were poor, but the glory of it was we didn't know it". the nixon family ranch failed in 1922, and the family moved to whittier, california. in an area with many quakers, frank nixon opened a grocery store and gas station. richard's younger brother arthur died in 1925 at the age of seven after a short illness. richard was twelve years old when a spot was found on his lung, and with a family history of tuberculosis, he was forbidden to play sports. the spot turned out to be scar tissue from an early bout of pneumonia. primary and secondary education nixon at whittier high school, 1930 nixon attended east whittier elementary school, where he was president of his eighth-grade class. his older brother harold had attended whittier high school, which his parents thought resulted in harold's dissolute lifestyle, before he contracted tuberculosis (that killed him in 1933). they decided to send nixon to the larger fullerton union high school. though he had to ride a school bus an hour each way during his freshman year, he received excellent grades. later, he lived with an aunt in fullerton during the week. he played junior varsity football, and seldom missed a practice, though he rarely was used in games. he had greater success as a debater, winning a number of championships and taking his only formal tutelage in public speaking from fullerton's head of english, h. lynn sheller. nixon later mused on sheller's words, "remember, speaking is conversation...don't shout at people. talk to them. converse with them." nixon said he tried to use a conversational tone as much as possible. at the start of his junior year in september 1928, nixon's parents permitted him to transfer to whittier high school. at whittier, nixon lost a bid for student body president, his first electoral defeat. at this period of his life, he often rose at 4 a.m., to drive the family truck into los angeles to purchase vegetables at the market and then drove to the store to wash and display them before going to school. harold was diagnosed with tuberculosis the previous year; when their mother took him to arizona hoping to improve his health, the demands on nixon increased, causing him to give up football. nevertheless, nixon graduated from whittier high third in his class of 207. college and law school nixon was offered a tuition grant to attend harvard university, but with harold's continued illness requiring his mother's care, richard was needed at the store. he remained in his hometown, enrolled at whittier college in september 1930, and his expenses were met by a bequest from his maternal grandfather. nixon played for the basketball team; he also tried out for football, and though he lacked the size to play, he remained on the team as a substitute and was noted for his enthusiasm. instead of fraternities and sororities, whittier had literary societies. nixon was snubbed by the only one for men, the franklins, many of whom were from prominent families, unlike nixon. he responded by helping to found a new society, the orthogonian society. in addition to the society, his studies, and work at the store, nixon found time for extracurricular activities; he became known as a champion debater and hard worker. in 1933, he became engaged to ola florence welch, daughter of the whittier police chief, but they broke up in 1935. after graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in history from whittier in 1934, nixon was accepted at the new duke university school of law, which offered scholarships to top students, including nixon. it paid high salaries to its professors, many of whom had national or international reputations. the number of scholarships was greatly reduced for second- and third-year students, creating intense competition. nixon kept his scholarship, was elected president of the duke bar association, inducted into the order of the coif, and graduated third in his class in june 1937. early career and marriage nixon's family: julie and david eisenhower, president nixon, first lady pat nixon, tricia and edward cox (december 24, 1971) after graduating from duke, nixon initially hoped to join the fbi. he received no response to his letter of application, and learned years later that he had been hired, but his appointment had been canceled at the last minute due to budget cuts. he returned to california, was admitted to the california bar in 1937, and began practicing in whittier with the law firm wingert and bewley. his work concentrated on commercial litigation for local petroleum companies and other corporate matters, as well as on wills. nixon was reluctant to work on divorce cases, disliking frank sexual talk from women. in 1938, he opened up his own branch of wingert and bewley in la habra, california, and became a full partner in the firm the following year. in later years, nixon proudly said he was the only modern president to have previously worked as a practicing attorney. in january 1938 nixon was cast in the whittier community