Richard Milhous Nixon

37th president of the United States

Richard Milhous Nixon (1913-1994) was the 37th president of the United States. Nixon became the first U.S. president to resign from office.
Richard Nixon was born in 1913 in Yorba Linda, California as son of a grocer. In 1934 Nixon graduated from Duke University and entered a law practice in Whittier in 1937.

Second World War

During Second World War Nixon joined the navy in 1942 and served as aviation ground officer in the Pacific. He left the service in 1946 as a lieutenant commander.

House of Representatives

Following his return he started a political career. In 1947 he was elected to the House of Representatives and served in the House UnAmerican Activities Committee. He pressed the investigation of Alger Hiss who was accused of spying for the Soviet Union.

Running mate of Eisenhower

In 1952 the conservative Richard Nixon was selected to be the running mate of Eisenhower and served two terms as vice president. During the elections of 1960 Nixon lost from John F. Kennedy, who beat him by only 123.000 votes.

Presidential election

After another loss during the California Campaign of 1962 Nixon announced his retirement from politics and moved to New York City to practice law.
Nixon reentered politics as candidate in the 1968 presidential election. For his running mate he chose Spiro T. Agnew. This time his opponent Humphrey was defeated and Nixon was inaugurated in January 1969.

Vietnam War

At first Nixon expanded the Vietnam War and authorized the invasion of Cambodia. In the second half of 1972 however secret meetings were held between Kissinger and Le Duc Tho, but these talks did not result in peace at first.
At home Nixon faced economical problems. He tried to cut federal expenses to beat inflation, but his administration grew to become the largest in history.
He was more successful in other matters: In 1972 Nixon visited Beijing and Moscow and trade agreements and a treaty to limit deployment of antiballistic missile systems (SALT 1) were signed.

Watergate

In 1972 Nixon won easily over his opponent George McGovern. His second term began with the ending of the Vietnam War in January 1973, but a month later a special Senate committee was installed to investigate the possible involvement of Nixon with a burglary by members of the Committee for the re-election of president Nixon, which took place during the elections of 1972. This matter was investigated and reported by The Washington Post.
Burglars tried to install a wiretap at the Democratic head office "Watergate". Nixon was accused of the involvement in the cover-up and obstructing justice. The recording system of the White House became an important issue. The investigation committee learned that Nixon used to tape all conversations in the Oval Office and asked for the release of those tapes.

Audiotapes

Nixon refused at first but had to release the audiotapes in July 1974. The recordings proofed Nixon's involvement in the cover-up.
On 8 August 1974 Nixon announced his resignation and was succeeded by Vice President Gerald Ford.
Nixon was not committed for his crimes but was granted pardon by Ford in September 1974.

Memoirs

Nixon wrote "The Memoirs of Richard Nixon" (1978), "No More Vietnams" (1985) and "In the Arena" (1990) and traveled a lot.
Richard Nixon died of a stroke in 1994 and was buried on the grounds of the Richard Nixon Library in his birthplace Yorba Linda in California.

More information

Richard M. Nixon

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