208 Facts About Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974.

Richard Nixon was born into a poor family of Quakers in a small town in Southern California.

Richard Nixon 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.

Richard Nixon 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.

Richard Nixon ended American involvement in Vietnam combat in 1973 and the military draft in the same year.

Richard Nixon's visit to China in 1972 eventually led to diplomatic relations between the two nations, and he then concluded the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union.

Richard Nixon presided over the Apollo 11 Moon landing, which signaled the end of the Space Race.

Richard Nixon was re-elected with a historic electoral landslide in 1972 when he defeated George McGovern.

Richard Nixon undertook many foreign trips, rehabilitating his image into that of an elder statesman and leading expert on foreign affairs.

Richard Nixon suffered a debilitating stroke on April 18,1994, and died four days later at the age of 81.

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.

Richard Nixon's parents were Hannah Nixon and Francis A Nixon.

Richard Nixon's mother was a Quaker, and his father converted from Methodism to the Quaker faith.

Richard Nixon's upbringing was influenced by Quaker observances of the time such as abstinence from alcohol, dancing, and swearing.

Richard Nixon had four brothers: Harold, Donald, Arthur, and Edward.

Richard Nixon 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.

Richard Nixon attended East Whittier Elementary School, where he was president of his eighth-grade class.

Richard Nixon played junior varsity football, and seldom missed a practice, though he rarely was used in games.

Richard Nixon 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.

At the start of his junior year in September 1928, Richard Nixon's parents permitted him to transfer to Whittier High School.

At Whittier, Richard Nixon lost a bid for student body president, his first electoral defeat.

Harold was diagnosed with tuberculosis the previous year; when their mother took him to Arizona hoping to improve his health, the demands on Richard Nixon increased, causing him to give up football.

Nevertheless, Richard Nixon graduated from Whittier High third in his class of 207.

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.

Richard Nixon remained in his hometown, enrolled at Whittier College in September 1930, and his expenses were met by a bequest from his maternal grandfather.

Richard Nixon played for the basketball team; he 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.

Richard Nixon was snubbed by the only one for men, the Franklins, many of whom were from prominent families, unlike Richard Nixon.

Richard Nixon responded by helping to found a new society, the Orthogonian Society.

Richard 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.

Richard Nixon 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.

Richard Nixon returned to California, was admitted to the California bar in 1937, and began practicing in Whittier with the law firm Wingert and Bewley.

Richard Nixon's work concentrated on commercial litigation for local petroleum companies and other corporate matters, as well as on wills.

In later years, Richard Nixon proudly said he was the only modern president to have previously worked as a practicing attorney.

In January 1938 Richard Nixon was cast in the Whittier Community Players production of The Dark Tower.

Once they began their courtship, Ryan was reluctant to marry Richard Nixon; they dated for two years before she assented to his proposal.

In January 1942 the couple moved to Washington, DC, where Richard Nixon took a job at the Office of Price Administration.

Richard Nixon was assigned to the tire rationing division, where he was tasked with replying to correspondence.

Richard Nixon did not enjoy the role, and four months later applied to join the United States Navy.

Richard Nixon's application was approved, and he was appointed a lieutenant junior grade in the United States Naval Reserve on June 15,1942.

Later, Richard Nixon was transferred to other offices to work on contracts and finally to Baltimore.

Richard Nixon flew to California and was selected by the committee.

Richard Nixon contended that Voorhis had been ineffective as a representative and suggested that Voorhis's endorsement by a group linked to Communists meant that Voorhis must have radical views.

Richard Nixon won the election, receiving 65,586 votes to Voorhis's 49,994.

Richard Nixon was the youngest member of the committee and the only Westerner.

Advocacy by Herter Committee members, including Richard Nixon, led to congressional passage of the Marshall Plan.

On February 18,1947, Richard Nixon referred to Eisler's belligerence toward HUAC in his maiden speech to the House.

The Richard Nixon Library cites this bill's passage as Richard Nixon's first significant victory in Congress.

Richard Nixon first gained national attention in August 1948, when his persistence as a HUAC member helped break the Alger Hiss spy case.

In 1948, Richard Nixon successfully cross-filed as a candidate in his district, winning both major party primaries, and was comfortably reelected.

In 1949, Richard Nixon began to consider running for the United States Senate against the Democratic incumbent, Sheridan Downey, and entered the race in November.

Richard Nixon and Douglas won the primary elections and engaged in a contentious campaign in which the ongoing Korean War was a major issue.

Richard Nixon tried to focus attention on Douglas's liberal voting record.

Richard Nixon maintained friendly relations with his fellow anti-communist, controversial Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy, but was careful to keep some distance between himself and McCarthy's allegations.

Richard Nixon supported statehood for Alaska and Hawaii, voted in favor of civil rights for minorities, and supported federal disaster relief for India and Yugoslavia.

Richard Nixon voted against price controls and other monetary restrictions, benefits for illegal immigrants, and public power.

Richard Nixon had no strong preference for a vice-presidential candidate, and Republican officeholders and party officials met in a "smoke-filled room" and recommended Nixon to the general, who agreed to the senator's selection.

Richard Nixon emotionally defended himself, stating that the fund was not secret, nor had donors received special favors.

Richard Nixon painted himself as a man of modest means and a patriot.

Richard Nixon attended Cabinet and National Security Council meetings and chaired them in Eisenhower's absence.

On his return to the United States at the end of 1953, Richard Nixon increased the time he devoted to foreign relations.

Nonetheless, Richard Nixon acted in Eisenhower's stead during this period, presiding over Cabinet meetings and ensuring that aides and Cabinet officers did not seek power.

Richard Nixon's spirits buoyed, Nixon sought a second term, but some of Eisenhower's aides aimed to displace him.

Eisenhower and Richard Nixon were reelected by a comfortable margin in the November 1956 election.

In early 1957, Richard Nixon undertook another foreign trip, this time to Africa.

Richard Nixon advised the President to sign the bill, which he did.

Eisenhower suffered a mild stroke in November 1957, and Richard Nixon gave a press conference, assuring the nation that the Cabinet was functioning well as a team during Eisenhower's brief illness.

In Montevideo, Uruguay, Richard Nixon made an impromptu visit to a college campus, where he fielded questions from students on US foreign policy.

The trip was uneventful until the Richard Nixon party reached Lima, Peru, where he was met with student demonstrations.

Richard Nixon went to the historical campus of National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas, got out of his car to confront the students, and stayed until forced back into the car by a volley of thrown objects.

At his hotel, Richard Nixon faced another mob, and one demonstrator spat on him.

In 1960 Richard Nixon launched his first campaign for President of the United States.

Richard Nixon faced little opposition in the Republican primaries and chose former Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.

Richard Nixon narrowly lost the election, with Kennedy winning the popular vote by only 112,827 votes.

The campaign was clouded by public suspicion that Richard Nixon viewed the office as a stepping stone for another presidential run, some opposition from the far-right of the party, and his own lack of interest in being California's governor.

Richard Nixon hoped a successful run would confirm his status as the nation's leading active Republican politician, and ensure he remained a major player in national politics.

In 1963 the Richard Nixon family traveled to Europe, where Richard Nixon gave press conferences and met with leaders of the countries he visited.

In 1964, Richard Nixon won write-in votes in the primaries, and was considered a serious contender by both Gallup polls and members of the press.

Richard Nixon was even placed on a primary ballot as an active candidate by Oregon's secretary of state.

Nevertheless, as late as two months before the 1964 Republican National Convention, Richard Nixon fulfilled his promise to remain out of the presidential nomination process and instead gave his support to the eventual Republican nominee, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater.

When Goldwater won the nomination, Richard Nixon was selected to introduce him at the convention.

Richard Nixon was one of the few leading Republicans not blamed for the disastrous results, and he sought to build on that in the 1966 Congressional elections.

Richard Nixon campaigned for many Republicans, seeking to regain seats lost in the Johnson landslide, and received credit for helping the Republicans make major gains that year.

Pat Richard Nixon did not always enjoy public life, being embarrassed, for example, by the need to reveal how little the family owned in the Checkers speech.

Richard Nixon still managed to be supportive of her husband's ambitions.

Richard Nixon believed that with the Democrats torn over the issue of the Vietnam War, a Republican had a good chance of winning, although he expected the election to be as close as in 1960.

Richard Nixon selected Maryland Governor Spiro Agnew as his running mate, a choice which Nixon believed would unite the party, appealing both to Northern moderates and to Southerners disaffected with the Democrats.

Richard Nixon appealed to what he later called the "silent majority" of socially conservative Americans who disliked the hippie counterculture and the anti-war demonstrators.

Richard Nixon waged a prominent television advertising campaign, meeting with supporters in front of cameras.

Richard Nixon stressed that the crime rate was too high, and attacked what he perceived as a surrender of the United States' nuclear superiority by the Democrats.

Richard Nixon promised "peace with honor" in the Vietnam War and proclaimed that "new leadership will end the war and win the peace in the Pacific".

Richard Nixon did not give specifics of how he hoped to end the war, resulting in media intimations that he must have a "secret plan".

On October 22,1968, candidate Richard Nixon received information that Johnson was preparing a so-called "October surprise", abandoning three non-negotiable conditions for a bombing halt, to help elect Humphrey in the last days of the campaign.

Whether the Richard Nixon campaign interfered with negotiations between the Johnson administration and the South Vietnamese by engaging Anna Chennault, a fundraiser for the Republican party, remains a controversy.

However, Richard Nixon earned 301 electoral votes to 191 for Humphrey and 46 for Wallace, a majority.

Richard Nixon became the first non-incumbent vice president to be elected president.

Richard Nixon was inaugurated as president on January 20,1969, sworn in by his onetime political rival, Chief Justice Earl Warren.

Richard Nixon spoke about turning partisan politics into a new age of unity:.

Richard Nixon followed up by sending Kissinger to China for clandestine meetings with Chinese officials.

Richard Nixon made a point of shaking Zhou's hand, something which then-Secretary of State John Foster Dulles had refused to do in 1954 when the two met in Geneva.

Richard Nixon said he was suspicious of Kissinger, though the National Security Advisor referred to their meeting as his "encounter with history".

Americans took their first glance into everyday Chinese life through the cameras that accompanied Pat Richard Nixon, who toured the city of Beijing and visited communes, schools, factories, and hospitals.

When Richard Nixon took office, about 300 American soldiers were dying each week in Vietnam, and the war was widely unpopular in the United States, the subject of ongoing violent protests.

Richard Nixon sought an arrangement that would permit American forces to withdraw while leaving South Vietnam secure against attack.

Richard Nixon approved a secret B-52 carpet bombing campaign of North Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge positions in Cambodia beginning in March 1969 and code-named Operation Menu, without the consent of Cambodian leader Norodom Sihanouk.

In mid-1969, Richard Nixon began efforts to negotiate peace with the North Vietnamese, sending a personal letter to their leaders, and peace talks began in Paris.

In July 1969, Richard Nixon visited South Vietnam, where he met with his US military commanders and President Nguyen Van Thieu.

Richard Nixon soon instituted phased US troop withdrawals, but authorized incursions into Laos, in part to interrupt the Ho Chi Minh trail passing through Laos and Cambodia and used to supply North Vietnamese forces.

Richard Nixon announced the ground invasion of Cambodia on April 30,1970, against North Vietnamese bases in the east of the country, and further protests erupted against perceived expansion of the conflict, which resulted in Ohio National Guardsmen killing four unarmed students at Kent State University.

When news of the leak first appeared, Richard Nixon was inclined to do nothing; the Papers, a history of United States' involvement in Vietnam, mostly concerned the lies of prior administrations and contained few real revelations.

Richard Nixon was persuaded by Kissinger that the Papers were more harmful than they appeared, and the President tried to prevent publication, but the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the newspapers.

Richard Nixon had been a firm supporter of Kennedy during the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion and 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Richard Nixon maintained close relations with the Cuban-American exile community through his friend, Bebe Rebozo, who often suggested ways of irritating Castro.

Richard Nixon used the improving international environment to address the topic of nuclear peace.

In 1973, Richard Nixon encouraged the Export-Import Bank to finance in part a trade deal with the Soviet Union in which Armand Hammer's Occidental Petroleum would export phosphate from Florida to the Soviet Union, and import Soviet ammonia.

In 1973, Richard Nixon announced his administration was committed to seeking most favored nation trade status with the USSR, which was challenged by Congress in the Jackson-Vanik Amendment.

Richard Nixon believed Israel should make peace with its Arab neighbors and that the US should encourage it.

Israel suffered heavy losses and Richard Nixon ordered an airlift to resupply Israeli losses, cutting through inter-departmental squabbles and bureaucracy and taking personal responsibility for any response by Arab nations.

When Soviet Premier Brezhnev threatened to unilaterally enforce any peacekeeping mission militarily, Richard Nixon ordered the US military to DEFCON3, placing all US military personnel and bases on alert for nuclear war.

Richard Nixon made one of his final international visits as president to the Middle East in June 1974, and became the first President to visit Israel.

Richard Nixon was far more interested in foreign affairs than domestic policies, but he believed that voters tend to focus on their own financial condition and that economic conditions were a threat to his reelection.

In 1970, Congress had granted the president the power to impose wage and price freezes, though the Democratic majorities, knowing Richard Nixon had opposed such controls throughout his career, did not expect Richard Nixon to actually use the authority.

Richard Nixon's options were to limit fiscal and monetary expansionist policies that reduced unemployment or end the dollar's fixed exchange rate; Richard Nixon's dilemma has been cited as an example of the Impossible trinity in international economics.

Richard Nixon then announced temporary wage and price controls, allowed the dollar to float against other currencies, and ended the convertibility of the dollar into gold.

Richard Nixon's policies dampened inflation through 1972, although their aftereffects contributed to inflation during his second term and into the Ford administration.

Richard Nixon advocated a "New Federalism", which would devolve power to state and local elected officials, though Congress was hostile to these ideas and enacted few of them.

Richard Nixon eliminated the Cabinet-level United States Post Office Department, which in 1971 became the government-run United States Postal Service.

Richard Nixon broke new ground by discussing environmental policy in his State of the Union speech in 1970.

Richard Nixon saw that the first Earth Day in April 1970 presaged a wave of voter interest on the subject, and sought to use that to his benefit; in June he announced the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Richard Nixon was concerned about the prevalence of domestic drug use in addition to drug use among American soldiers in Vietnam.

Richard Nixon called for a War on Drugs and pledged to cut off sources of supply abroad.

Richard Nixon increased funds for education and for rehabilitation facilities.

The Richard Nixon presidency witnessed the first large-scale integration of public schools in the South.

Richard Nixon sought a middle way between the segregationist Wallace and liberal Democrats, whose support of integration was alienating some Southern whites.

Federal aid was available, and a meeting with President Richard Nixon was a possible reward for compliant committees.

Richard Nixon opposed busing personally but enforced court orders requiring its use.

Some scholars, such as James Morton Turner and John Isenberg, believe that Richard Nixon, who had advocated for civil rights in his 1960 campaign, slowed down desegregation as president, appealing to the racial conservatism of Southern whites, who were angered by the civil rights movement.

Richard Nixon endorsed the Equal Rights Amendment after it passed both houses of Congress in 1972 and went to the states for ratification.

Richard Nixon pushed for African American civil rights and economic equity through a concept known as black capitalism.

Richard Nixon had campaigned as an ERA supporter in 1968, though feminists criticized him for doing little to help the ERA or their cause after his election.

Richard Nixon spoke with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during their moonwalk.

Richard Nixon called the conversation "the most historic phone call ever made from the White House".

Richard Nixon was unwilling to keep funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at the high level seen during the 1960s as NASA prepared to send men to the Moon.

Richard Nixon canceled the Air Force Manned Orbital Laboratory program in 1969, because uncrewed spy satellites were a more cost-effective way to achieve the same reconnaissance objective.

On May 24,1972, Richard Nixon approved a five-year cooperative program between NASA and the Soviet space program, culminating in the 1975 joint mission of an American Apollo and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft linking in space.

Richard Nixon believed his rise to power had peaked at a moment of political realignment.

Richard Nixon nominated two Southern conservatives, Clement Haynsworth and G Harrold Carswell to the Supreme Court, but neither was confirmed by the Senate.

Richard Nixon entered his name on the New Hampshire primary ballot on January 5,1972, effectively announcing his candidacy for reelection.

Richard Nixon dismissed the Democratic platform as cowardly and divisive.

Richard Nixon was ahead in most polls for the entire election cycle, and was reelected on November 7,1972, in one of the largest landslide election victories in American history.

Richard Nixon downplayed the scandal as mere politics, calling news articles biased and misleading.

In July 1973, White House aide Alexander Butterfield testified under oath to Congress that Richard Nixon had a secret taping system and recorded his conversations and phone calls in the Oval Office.

In November, Richard Nixon's lawyers revealed that a tape of conversations held in the White House on June 20,1972, had an.

Richard Nixon admitted he had made mistakes but insisted he had no prior knowledge of the burglary, did not break any laws, and did not learn of the cover-up until early 1973.

One researcher suggests Richard Nixon effectively disengaged from his own administration after Ford was sworn in as vice president on December 6,1973.

The legal battle over the tapes continued through early 1974, and in April Richard Nixon announced the release of 1,200 pages of transcripts of White House conversations between himself and his aides.

The scandal grew to involve a slew of additional allegations against the President, ranging from the improper use of government agencies to accepting gifts in office and his personal finances and taxes; Richard Nixon repeatedly stated his willingness to pay any outstanding taxes due, and later paid $465,000 in back taxes in 1974.

Rhodes told Richard Nixon he faced certain impeachment in the House.

In light of his loss of political support and the near-certainty that he would be impeached and removed from office, Richard Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9,1974, after addressing the nation on television the previous evening.

Richard Nixon said he was resigning for the good of the country and asked the nation to support the new president, Gerald Ford.

Richard Nixon went on to review the accomplishments of his presidency, especially in foreign policy.

Richard Nixon defended his record as president, quoting from Theodore Roosevelt's 1910 speech Citizenship in a Republic:.

Richard Nixon's speech received generally favorable initial responses from network commentators, with only Roger Mudd of CBS stating that Richard Nixon had not admitted wrongdoing.

Richard Nixon left while devoting half his address to a recitation of his accomplishments in office.

Richard Nixon's resignation had not put an end to the desire among many to see him punished.

Richard Nixon, contacted by Ford emissaries, was initially reluctant to accept the pardon, but then agreed to do so.

Ford insisted on a statement of contrition, but Richard Nixon felt he had not committed any crimes and should not have to issue such a document.

In December 1974, Richard Nixon began planning his comeback despite the considerable ill will against him in the country.

Richard Nixon wrote in his diary, referring to himself and Pat,.

Richard Nixon maintained an office in a Coast Guard station 300 yards from his home, at first taking a golf cart and later walking the route each day; he mainly worked on his memoirs.

Richard Nixon had hoped to wait before writing his memoirs; the fact that his assets were being eaten away by expenses and lawyer fees compelled him to begin work quickly.

In February 1976, Richard Nixon visited China at the personal invitation of Mao.

Richard Nixon had wanted to return to China but chose to wait until after Ford's own visit in 1975.

Richard Nixon remained neutral in the close 1976 primary battle between Ford and Reagan.

The Carter administration had little use for Richard Nixon and blocked his planned trip to Australia, causing the government of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser to withhold its official invitation.

In 1976, Richard Nixon was disbarred by the New York State Bar Association for obstruction of justice in the Watergate affair.

Richard Nixon was welcomed by the Leader of the Opposition, Margaret Thatcher, as well as by former prime ministers Lord Home and Sir Harold Wilson.

Richard Nixon visited the White House in 1979, invited by Carter for the state dinner for Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping.

Richard Nixon had a private meeting with Deng and visited Beijing again in mid-1979.

Richard Nixon supported Ronald Reagan for president in 1980, making television appearances portraying himself as, in biographer Stephen Ambrose's words, "the senior statesman above the fray".

Richard Nixon wrote guest articles for many publications both during the campaign and after Reagan's victory.

Richard Nixon joined former Presidents Ford and Carter as representatives of the United States at the funeral of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

Richard Nixon visited the Soviet Union in 1986 and on his return sent President Reagan a lengthy memorandum containing foreign policy suggestions and his personal impressions of Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.

In 1986, Richard Nixon addressed a convention of newspaper publishers, impressing his audience with his tour d'horizon of the world.

Pat Richard Nixon died on June 22,1993, of emphysema and lung cancer.

Former President Richard Nixon was distraught throughout the interment and delivered a tribute to her inside the library building.

Richard Nixon suffered a severe stroke on April 18,1994, while preparing to eat dinner in his home at Park Ridge, New Jersey.

Richard Nixon was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, initially alert but unable to speak or to move his right arm or leg.

Damage to the brain caused swelling, and Richard Nixon slipped into a deep coma.

Richard Nixon's funeral took place on April 27,1994, in Yorba Linda, California.

Richard Nixon was buried beside his wife Pat on the grounds of the Nixon Library.

Richard Nixon was survived by his two daughters, Tricia and Julie, and four grandchildren.

At its peak, the line to pass by Richard Nixon's casket was three miles long with an estimated 42,000 people waiting.

Clinton, whose wife served on the staff of the committee that voted to impeach Richard Nixon, met openly with him and regularly sought his advice.

Tom Wicker of The New York Times noted that Richard Nixon had been equalled only by Franklin Roosevelt in being five times nominated on a major party ticket and, quoting Richard Nixon's 1962 farewell speech, wrote,.

Richard Nixon's jowly, beard-shadowed face, the ski-jump nose and the widow's peak, the arms upstretched in the V-sign, had been so often pictured and caricatured, his presence had become such a familiar one in the land, he had been so often in the heat of controversy, that it was hard to realize the nation really would not "have Nixon to kick around anymore".

Hunter S Thompson wrote a scathing piece denouncing Nixon for Rolling Stone, entitled "He Was a Crook".

Richard Nixon himself did not consider the environmental advances he made in office an important part of his legacy; some historians contend that his choices were driven more by political expediency than any strong environmentalism.

Richard Nixon saw his policies on Vietnam, China, and the Soviet Union as central to his place in history.

Historian Keith W Olson has written that Nixon left a legacy of fundamental mistrust of government, rooted in Vietnam and Watergate.

In surveys of historians and political scientists, Richard Nixon is generally ranked as a below-average president.

Richard Nixon's career was frequently dogged by his persona and the public's perception of it.

Richard Nixon was often portrayed with unshaven jowls, slumped shoulders, and a furrowed, sweaty brow.

Richard Nixon had a complex personality, both very secretive and awkward, yet strikingly reflective about himself.

Richard Nixon was inclined to distance himself from people and was formal in all aspects, wearing a coat and tie even when home alone.

Richard Nixon thought that was what had brought him to the edge of greatness.

In October 1999, a volume of 1971 White House audio tapes was released which contained multiple statements by Richard Nixon deemed derogatory toward Jews.

Haldeman, Richard Nixon said that Washington was "full of Jews" and that "most Jews are disloyal", making exceptions for some of his top aides.

Richard Nixon believed that putting distance between himself and other people was necessary for him as he advanced in his political career and became president.