 |
Richard Milhous Nixon
b. 9 Jan 1913, Yorba Linda, California
d. 22 Apr 1994, New York City, New York |
| Title: |
President of the United States |
| Term: |
20 Jan 1969 - 20 Jan 1973 |
| Chronology: |
6 Jan 1969,
election to the office of President of the United States is declared upon counting electoral votes (cast 16 Dec 1968),
joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives, House Chamber, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. [1] |
|
20 Jan 1969,
commencement of term |
|
20 Jan 1969,
took an oath of office as President of the United States, inaugural ceremony, East Portico, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. [2] |
|
20 Jan 1973, expiration of term |
| Term: |
20 Jan 1973 - 9 Aug 1974 |
| Chronology: |
6 Jan 1973,
election to the office of President of the United States is declared upon counting electoral votes (cast 18 Dec 1972),
joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives, House Chamber, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. [3] |
|
20 Jan 1973,
commencement of term |
|
20 Jan 1973,
took an oath of office as President of the United States, inaugural ceremony, East Portico, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. [4] |
|
9 Aug 1974, ceased to exercise the duties of office upon delivery of his letter of resignation (dated 9 Aug 1974) into the office of the Secretary of State who countersigned it [5] |
| Biography: |
| Attended the public schools; graduated from Whittier (California) College in 1934 and Duke University Law School, Durham, North Carolina, in 1937; admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Whittier, California; attorney in Office of Emergency Management, Washington, D.C., January 1942 to August 1942; during the Second World War served in the US Navy from August 1942 to January 1946 and was discharged as a lieutenant commander; elected as a Republican to the 80th and 81st Congresses and served from 3 Jan 1947, until his resignation 30 Nov 1950; elected to the US Senate for the term commencing 3 Jan 1951; subsequently appointed to fill a vacancy and served from 1 Dec 1950, until his resignation 1 Jan 1953, to become Vice President; elected Vice President of the United States (20 Jan 1953 - 20 Jan 1961) on the Republican ticket with Dwight Eisenhower on 4 Nov 1952; reelected Vice President of the United States in 1956; unsuccessful Republican nominee for President of the United States in 1960; resumed the practice of law in Los Angeles and New York; unsuccessful Republican nominee for Governor of California in 1962; elected President of the United States in 1968; undertook a number of reforms in welfare policy, civil rights, law enforcement, and the environment; gradually reduced the number of American troops in Vietnam; resumed the bombing of North Vietnam and expanded the air and ground war to neighboring Cambodia and Laos; established direct relations with the People's Republic of China; signed nuclear-arms limitation treaties with the Soviet Union in Moscow (SALT I, 1972); reelected in 1972; Paris Agreement signed (January 1973), providing for the complete withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam; involved in illegal activities related to the burglary and wiretapping of the national headquarters of the Democratic Party at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C.; resigned 9 Aug 1974, during impeachment proceedings against him in the House Judiciary Committee arising from matters surrounding the 'Watergate' affair; accepted pardon from President Gerald Ford, 8 Sep 1974; retired to the seclusion of his estate in San Clemente, California, and devoted himself to writing. |
| Biographical sources: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (2005). |
| Elections: |
| Candidate |
Electoral vote (16 Dec 1968) |
| Richard Milhous Nixon |
301 |
| Hubert Horatio Humphrey |
191 |
| George Corley Wallace |
46 |
| total number of electors appointed |
538 |
| number of votes for a majority |
270 |
| Candidate |
Electoral vote (18 Dec 1972) |
| Richard Milhous Nixon |
520 |
| George Stanley McGovern |
17 |
| John Hospers |
1 |
| total number of electors appointed |
538 |
| number of votes for a majority |
270 |
|
| Source of electoral results: Congressional Record, 91st Congress, 1st Session, 172; Congressional Record, 93rd Congress, 1st Session, 378-379. |
| |
| [1] |
Congressional Record, 91st Congress, 1st Session, 145-172. |
| [2] |
Congressional Record, 91st Congress, 1st Session, 1288-1292. |
| [3] |
Congressional Record, 93rd Congress, 1st Session, 378-379. |
| [4] |
Congressional Record, 93rd Congress, 1st Session, 1658-1661. |
| [5] |
Richard M. Nixon Resignation Letter, 08/09/1974, Record Group 59: General Records of the Department of State, 1756–1979, NARA, College Park, MD. (ARC #302035) |
| |
Image: photograph (1969). |
